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GODOY:    THE   QUEEN'S   FAVOURITE 


GODOY:  THE  QUEEN'S 
FAVOURITE 


BY 


EDMUND    B.    D'AUVERGNE 

AUTHOR  OF 
'  THE  COBURGS,"  "  A  QUEEN  AT  BAY,"  "  LOLA  MONTEZ,"  ETC. 


WITH     PHOTOGRAVURE     FRONTISPIECE     AND     SIXTEEN 
OTHER  ILLUSTRATIONS,  INCLUDING  TWELVE  PORTRAITS 

AFTER   GOYA 


RICHARD   G.   BADGER 

THE  GORHAM  PRESS 
BOSTON 


PRINTED   IN  GREAT  BRITAIN 


PREFACE 

This  is  the  story  of  one  of  those  playthings  of  for- 
tune of  whom  the  history  of  despotic  monarchies, 
and  particularly  of  Spain,  has  had  so  much  to  tell. 
By  his  mere  charm  of  manner  Godoy,  a  penniless 
guardsman,  captivated  the  Queen  of  Spain  ;  by  his 
gentleness  of  disposition,  by  his  intelligence,  strange 
to  say,  by  his  fidelity,  he  secured  the  unbounded  con- 
fidence of  the  king.  No  name  is  more  detested  by  his 
countrymen  than  his ;  no  one  has  been  treated  more 
unjustly  by  his  contemporaries  and  posterity.  To 
him  has  been  ascribed  the  downfall  of  his  country 
wJiich  he  fell  in  trying  to  avert.  The  stupid  multi- 
tude pulled  him  down  in  the  very  act  of  saving  them 
from  the  maws  of  Napoleon.  Not  generous  enough 
to  admit  their  error,  they  have  continued  to  make 
him  their  scapegoat.  Historians  in  every  land  have 
repeated  the  lie,  and  stultify  themselves  by  picturing 
the  awful  results  of  the  abandonment  of  the  policy 
which  he  had  advocated. 

Godoy  was  a  favourite  ;  as  such  he  had  few  friends. 
The  people  and  the  nobility  alike,  jealous  of  his  suc- 
cess, pointed  sneeringly  to  the  dishonourable  circum- 
stances of  his  elevation.  Godoy  obtained  his  power 
ignobly,  but   he   used  it   well.     To  him,  untrained, 

$ 


6  Preface 

inexperienced,  young,  fell  the  Herculean  task  of 
defending  ruined  Spain  against  the  forces  of  the  French 
revolution  and  the  empire.  For  seventeen  years  he 
maintained  the  independence  and  the  integrity  of 
his  realms.  Austria  and  Prussia,  directed  by  the  most 
experienced  statesmen  of  Europe,  were  devastated  and 
dismembered  by  the  conqueror  ;  Holland,  Piedmont, 
Rome,  were  absorbed  by  him ;  but  the  Queen's 
guardsman,  jeered  at  by  his  countrymen,  kept  the 
throne  of  the  Bourbons  erect  by  wiles  and  diplomacy, 
and  parted  not  with  an  inch  of  their  territory.  The 
man  who  could  withstand  the  revolution  and 
Napoleon  for  nearly  a  score  of  years  must  have  had 
in  him  some  of  the  qualities  of  a  great  statesman. 

At  home  we  find  him  ruling  mildly,  checking  the 
powers  of  the  Inquisition,  stimulating  industry, 
agriculture,  and  commerce,  liberally  encouraging 
letters.  Such  efforts  estranged  rather  than  won  for 
him  the  sympathies  of  Spaniards.  "  No  drop  of 
blood,  save  that  of  ordinary  malefactors,  was  ever 
shed  during  my  administration,"  was  his  proud  boast. 
It  awakened  no  applause  in  Spain.  The  people 
liked  not  mercy  nor  mercy-mongers.  They  had 
resented  the  efforts  of  the  Bourbon  kings  to  drag 
them  out  of  their  slough ;  such  efforts  on  the  part 
of  the  upstart  from  Estremadura  they  derided  as 
impertinence. 

Godoy  was  a  man  in  advance  of  his  age  and  nation. 
Foreseeing  the  loss  of  Spain's  American  possessions,  he 
proposed  to  erect  them  into  three  or  four  kingdoms, 
each  tobe  allotted  to  a  prince  of  the  Spanish  royal  house. 
Had  his  scheme  been  realised  a  close  family  alliance 
to   this  day  would  have  united  the  mother-country 


Preface  7 

with  two-thirds  of  the  Latin  world.  Seeing  that 
Spain's  part  in  the  European  concert  had  been  played, 
he  strove  to  profit  by  the  preoccupations  of  the 
Powers  by  founding  a  Spanish  empire  in  Morocco. 
It  is  not  his  fault,  but  his  sovereign's,  that  the  tricolour 
instead  of  the  red  and  yellow  banner  waves  to-day 
from  Cape  Spartel  to  Cape  Bon. 

But  Spain  would  have  none  of  him.  She  wanted 
Ferdinand,  the  mild  old  king's  unworthy  son.  For 
him  she  overthrew  Godoy.  She  lived  to  repent  her 
choice  in  blood  and  tears ;  she  has  not  yet  expiated 
her  error.  The  favourite  alone  penetrated  the  true 
character  of  the  beloved  prince.  He  saw  him  in  all 
his  falseness,  his  meanness,  and  his  cruelty.  He  is 
suspected  of  a  design  to  exclude  the  prince  from  the 
succession — this,  which  has  been  made  his  reproach, 
should  be  reckoned  to  him  as  patriotism  and  wisdom. 
The  history  of  Spain  during  the  past  century  has  in 
every  particular  justified  the  predictions  and  the 
policy  of  the  most  injured  of  her  sons. 

The  original  sources  of  information  for  the  history 
of  Godoy  are  his  own  and  other  people's  personal 
recollections  (always,  of  course,  to  be  received  with 
caution),  and  the  reports  of  ambassadors  and  other 
official  documents  to  be  found  in  the  various  archives 
of  Europe.  The  history  of  Charles  IV.,  by  General 
Arteche,  forming  three  volumes  of  the  general  history 
of  Spain  edited  by  Canovas  del  Castillo,  has  practic- 
ally exhausted  the  Spanish  state  papers  so  far  available 
to  the  student.  M.  Geoffroy  de  Grandmaison  and 
Count  Murat  have  embodied  in  their  admirable  (but, 
in  the  case  of  the  former,  rather  prejudiced)  volumes 
all  the  light  that  can  be  thrown  by  the  French  archives 


8  Preface 

on  the  career  and  policy  of  Godoy.  I  have  also 
used  with  great  profit  M.  Tratchevsky's  summary 
of  the  Russian  ambassador's  communications  to  his 
court.  It  has  remained  to  me  to  exam.ine  our  own 
Foreign  Office  letter-books ;  and,  if  I  have  not  made 
any  very  startling  discoveries,  the  frank  statements  of 
our  representatives  at  the  court  of  Madrid  have  at 
least  borne  out  at  many  points  the  contentions  of 
Godoy  and  have  helped  to  clear  him  of  many  of  the 
cruellest  aspersions  of  his  French  adversaries. 

I  hope  the  book  will  prove  interesting  to  the  general 
reader.  To  the  historian  I  would  say  that  it  is  an 
earnest  attempt  to  do  tardy  justice  to  a  patriotic 
statesman  on  whom  his  countrymen  have  been  too 
long  allowed  to  lay  the  blame  of  their  own  folly. 

Edmund  B.  d'Auvergne. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Preface     .......         5 

CHAPTER    I 

A  Gentleman  Cadet    .         .         .         .         -IS 

CHAPTER   n 

The  Princess  of  the  Spains  ...       23 

CHAPTER   HI 

The  First  Rumble  of  the  Storm  .         .       37 

CHAPTER   IV 

The  King's  Favourite  .         .         .         •       5^ 

CHAPTER   V 
Halcyon  Days  for  Spain      ....       78 

CHAPTER   VI 

The  Alliance  with  the  Regicides        .         *      9i 

9 


lo  Contents 


CHAPTER   VII 

PAGE 

GODOY    IN    THE    BACKGROUND  .  .  .       Il6 


CHAPTER   VIII 

The  War  of  the  Orange-trees     .  .         .132 

CHAPTER   IX 

GoDOY  versus  Napoleon         .         .         .         .150 

CHAPTER   X 

Trafalgar    .  .         .  .         .         .         .172 

CHAPTER   XI 

The  Treaty  of  Fontainebleau     .  .  .190 

CHAPTER   XII 
Prince  and  Ambassador         ....     210 

CHAPTER   XIII 

The  Conspiracy  of  the  Escurial  .  .     226 

CHAPTER   XIV 
The  Invasion        ......     248 


Contents  ii 


CHAPTER   XV 


PAGE 


Aranjuez      .......     271 

CHAPTER   XVI 
Bayonne       .         i         .         .         .         .  .     292 

CHAPTER   XVH 
The  Last  Long  Scene  ....     312 


Index 


329 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


Charles  IV.  and  his  Family  (Goya) 


Frontispiece 


In  the  centre  of  the  picture  stands  the  queen,  Maria  l,uisa,  with  her 
youngest  daughter,  the  Infanta  Maria  Isabel,  and  her  youngest  son,  the 
Infante  Francisco  de  Paula.  In  advance  of  the  little  prince  stands  King 
Charles.  The  queen  of  Etruria,  holding  her  baby,  stands  next  to  her 
husband,  Don  Luis  ;  and  between  him  and  the  king  are  seen  the  Infanta 
Carlota  Joaquina  of  Portugal,  and  the  king's  brother,  the  Infante 
Antonio.  In  the  left  foreground  is  Prince  Ferdinand  (afterwards  king), 
on  his  left  is  his  wife,  Maria  Antonia  of  Naples  ;  on  his  right  his  brother 
Don  Carlos.  Behind  the  princess  appears  the  king's  sister,  the  Infanta 
Maria  Joscfa,  and  in  the  diia  background  the  painter  himself. 


Queen  Maria  Luisa  (Goya) 

.       33 

Floridablanca  (Goya) 

.       51 

GODOY 

.       69 

GODOY 

•       87 

Jovellanos  (Goya) 

.     105 

Urquijo  (Goya) 

.     123 

LuciEN  Bonaparte 

.     141 

GoDOY  (Goya) 

159 

Charles  IV.  of  Spain  (Goya) 

177 

Don  Luis,  King  of  Etruria  (Goya) 

195 

Queen  Maria  Luisa  (Goya) 

213 

Ferdinand  VII.  (Goya) 

231 

Caballero  (Goya)       .         .         .         . 

249 

Maria  Luisa,  Queen  of  Etruria 

267 

Murat 

285 

Charles  IV.  of  Spain  (Goya) 

303 

13 


GODOY :  THE  QUEEN'S 
FAVOURITE 


CHAPTER  I 

A    GENTLEMAN    CADET 

One  morning  in  the  year  1784,  when  good  King 
Charles  HI.  reigned  over  Spain  and  no  rumble  of 
the  revolution  had  as  yet  troubled  his  people,  a 
handsome  lad,  seventeen  years  old,  rode  into  Madrid 
to  seek  his  fortune.  He  found  it,  as  we  shall  see, 
at  the  bottom  of  deep  waters  which  at  last  engulfed 
him  and  cast  him  up  to  perish.  His  name,  Manuel 
Godoy,  has  long  been  a  byword  of  reproach  among 
his  countrymen  ;  when,  full  of  high  hopes,  he  first 
entered  the  capital  it  would  have  sounded  unfamiliar 
to  most  ears.  Yet  in  his  native  province  of  Estre- 
madura — ^the  country  of  Cortes,  Pizarro,  and  Nufiez 
de  Balboa — the  Godoys  commanded  respect  as  an 
ancient  and  honourable  family  which  had  fallen  on 
evil  days.  They  came  originally  from  Castuera,  a 
town,  it  seems,  of  ill  repute  among  its  neighbours, 
who  have  a  saying, 

De  Castuera  y  con  montera 

A  la  puerta  de  un  zajurdon-ladron.^ 

^  "The  thief  from  Castuera,  in  his  old  cap  at  the  door  of  his 
hovel." 

15 


1 6  Godoy:  the  Queen*s  Favourite 

But  there  was  no  stain  on  the  escutcheon  of  the 
Godoys,  who  ranked  among  the  nobility,  though  not 
with  the  grandees,  of  the  province. 

The  family  recognised  as  their  founder  a  Galician 
knight  who  did  good  service  for  King  Sancho  el 
Deseado  in  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century.  Two 
of  his  descendants — Don  Pedro  and  Don  Diego 
Muniz  de  Godoy — ^held  the  high  office  of  Grand 
Master  of  Santiago  ;  while  a  third,  also  named  Pedro, 
a  great  favourite  of  Enrique  II.,  was  master  not  only 
of  that  order,  but  of  Calatrava  also.  Other  scions 
of  the  house  seem  to  have  followed  their  daring 
countrymen  in  the  track  of  Columbus,  for  we  read 
of  a  Godoy  who  was  a  lieutenant  of  Cortes,  and  of 
South  American  generals  and  statesmen  of  the  name. 
But  little  of  the  wealth  of  the  Occident  found  its 
way  back  to  poor  sheep-ridden  Estremadura,  though 
here  and  there,  to  this  day,  some  grand  but  dilapi- 
dated mansion  bears  witness  to  the  luck  of  some  long- 
dead  adventurer.  Whatever  fortune  the  Godoys  of 
Castuera  may  once  have  possessed,  it  dwindled  away. 
Each  generation  handed  down  a  diminished  patrimony 
to  the  next ;  and  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  we  find  the  family  transplanted  to  Badajoz 
and  represented  by  Don  Jose  Godoy,  a  militia  colonel, 
very  poor  and  proud.  He  was  the  father  of  Manuel, 
whose  mother  was  Doiia  Maria  Antonia  Alvarez  de 
Faria,  a  native  of  the  town,  but  descended  from  an 
aristocratic  Portuguese  stock. 

They  had  four  sons  and  two  daughters.  Antonia, 
the  elder  girl,  afterwards  married  the  marquis  of 
Branciforte ;  her  sister,  Ramona,  became  the  wife 
of   the  count   of   Fuente   Blanca.      The  eldest  son, 


A  Gentleman  Cadet  17 

Jose,  entered  the  Church,  and  in  course  of  time 
obtained  a  canonry  at  Toledo.  Luis  was  the  second 
son,  Diego  the  youngest.  Between  them  came 
Manuel.  He  was  born  on  May  12,  1767,  in  his  father's 
mansion  at  Badajoz,  which  local  antiquaries  say  stood 
on  the  site  of  the  house  now  numbered  6"]^  Atocha, 
and  must  have  been  demolished  soon  after  the  flood 
of  1786.  But  this  cannot  have  been  so,  if  we  are 
to  believe  Manuel's  statement  that  King  Charles  IV. 
lodged  in  the  house  in  1796  while  on  his  way  to  Seville 
and  permitted  Don  Jose  to  decorate  it  with  the 
chain,  which  in  Spain  commemorates  such  royal  visits. 
In  after-years  malicious  tongues  busily  represented 
the  favourite  as  having  been  born  in  a  garret  and 
in  a  kitchen  bred.  He  points  out  that  when  King 
John  of  Portugal  bestowed  on  him  the  order  of 
Christ,  the  illustrious  lineage  of  his  mother  was 
referred  to  expressly  in  the  diploma,  and  that  when 
he  and  his  brothers,  Luis  and  Diego,  were  admitted 
to  the  great  military  orders  of  Spain  they  were,  each 
in  turn,  obliged  to  furnish  absolute  documentary 
evidence  of  the  nobility  of  their  house  for  at  least 
eigj^t  generations.  "  If  I  give  these  details,"  says 
Godoy,  "it  is  not  because  of  any  intrinsic  value 
that  I  attach  to  them,  but  to  confute  those  who 
have  accused  me  of  inventing  fictitious  ancestries. 
In  after-years  I  often  experienced  a  contempt, 
difficult  to  conceal,  when  great  personages  whose 
forefathers  and  mine  had  no  other  common  ances- 
tor than  Adam,  used,  in  base  adulation,  to  claim 
some  remote  or  recent  connection  with  my  family, 
till  then  unsuspected  by  either  of  us.  As  to  my 
family,  no  doubt  its  fortune  was  modest.  My  de- 
2 


1 8  Godoy:  the  Queen^s  Favourite 

tractors  reproach  me  with  having  been  poor.  Strange 
that  writers  priding  themselves  on  their  liberalism 
should,  instead  of  judging  the  man,  examine  empty 
titles  to  nobility  and  the  state  of  the  family  purse  !  " 
We  have  heard  other  radicals  reproaching  English 
dukes  with  the  "  illegitimacy "  of  their  ancestors, 
and  German  princes  with  their  slender  incomes. 
*'  My  father's  means,"  continues  the  fallen  minister, 
"  though  moderate,  permitted  him  to  live  in  inde- 
pendence, and  to  educate  his  children  according  to 
their  station,  even  to  the  extent  of  providing  them 
with  private  tutors." 

As  a  pious  pupil,  Don  Manuel  has  preserved  for 
us  the  names  of  these  mentors — Francisco  Ortega, 
Mufioz  de  Mena,  Alonso  Montalvo,  afterwards  canon 
of  Granada,  and  his  cousin,  Mateo  Delgado,  after- 
wards bishop  of  Badajoz.  Clerical  instructors  were 
doubtless  preferred  by  Don  Jose,  who  was  a  man  of 
strict  morals  and  had  probably  little  sympathy  with 
the  modernising  tendencies  of  the  reign.  He  dis- 
trusted the  atmosphere  of  the  public  schools  and 
universities,  but  suffered  his  boys  to  learn  as  much 
philosophy  as  was  good  for  them  from  their  tutors. 
These  impressed  on  Manuel  the  immense  superiority 
of  the  great  Latins,  "  our  masters  in  history,  morals, 
and  politics." 

The  education  of  the  future  favourite  was  thus, 
according  to  his  own  showing,  sound  and  serious. 
He  has  been  taunted  with  his  incorrect  spelling  and 
composition,  but  these,  we  know,  often  prove 
stumbling-blocks  to  men  of  much  wider  culture. 
Arms  and  horsemanship  were  the  lad's  sole  recreation  ; 
music  and  dancing — the  arts  by  which  Manuel  was 


A  Gentleman  Cadet  19 

alleged  to  have  risen  to  royal  favour—were  banned 
as  frivolous  and  unmanly. 

Luckily,  young  Godoy  had  grace  enough  of  his  own 
to  make  up  for  the  lack  of  these  accomplishments.  He 
had  a  gracious  smile,  bold,  black  eyes  and  a  well-turned 
leg — advantages  not  to  be  despised  in  Spain,  where, 
an  unkindly  critic  remarks,  physical  beauty  is  rare. 
Certainly  Spaniards  are  not  so  comely  as  our  novelists 
suppose.  With  his  face  as  his  sole  fortune,  the  cadet 
of  a  noble  house  had  then  but  one  opening  in  life. 
He  must  enter,  as  his  brother  Luis  had  already  done, 
the  ranks  of  the  king's  Garde  de  Corps.  He  was 
packed  off  to  the  capital  with  his  father's  blessing, 
a  certificate  of  nobility  in  his  wallet,  and  a  letter 
of  introduction  to  one  of  the  camaristas  or  ladies-in- 
waiting  at  the  court. 

The  name  of  this  benevolent  lady  has  not  been 
recorded,  though  it  was  she  who,  in  opening  the  letter, 
turned  the  first  page  of  a  memorable  chapter  in  the 
history  of  Spain.  She  glanced  from  the  paper  to 
the  applicant,  and  found  him  good  to  look  upon. 
His  clothes  were  homespun,  so  were  his  manners; 
still  he  was  a  handsome,  dashing  lad.  In  the  dull 
court  of  Charles  HL  a  new-comer  was  a  godsend. 
Prayer  and  intrigue  were  the  only  distractions  for 
women.  The  camarista  took  the  young  provincial 
in  hand  and  presented  him  to  her  friends  about 
the  court.  He  had  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  criticism. 
His  rusticity  provided  huge  amusement.  Estrcmadura 
being  the  land  of  pigs  and  sausages,  no  doubt  he  was 
nicknamed  the  choricero  (sausage-maker)  in  jest  as 
afterwards  in  more  bitter  derision.  His  good-humour 
and  natural  ease  of  manner  carried  him  safely  through 


26  Godoy:  the  Queen*s  Favourite 

the  ordeal.  By  this  time,  it  is  asserted  that  the 
camarista  had  fallen  in  love  with  him.  Manuel, 
we  may  be  sure,  was  no  Joseph.  As  the  price  of 
his  kindness  (so  it  is  said),  he  received  the  coveted 
bandoleer  of  his  catholic  majesty's  body-guard. 

That  highly  ornamental  and  most  unformidable 
corps  was  composed  exclusively  of  men  of  noble 
birth.  The  book  of  its  privileges,  immunities,  and 
dignities  was  a  big  one.  The  privates  ranked  with 
the  lieutenants  of  other  regiments,  the  cadets  with 
captains,  the  lieutenants  with  colonels,  and  the 
captains  with  generals.  The  duties  of  the  corps 
consisted  almost  wholly  in  attending  the  members  of 
the  royal  family  on  state  occasions  and  in  mounting 
guard  in  the  ante-chambers  of  the  palace.  It  was 
divided  into  four  companies — the  Flemish,  the 
American,  the  Italian,  and  the  Spanish.  All  these, 
as  may  be  supposed,  went  very  spruce,  the  first  with 
facings  of  yellow  and  silver,  the  second  of  silver  and 
murrey,  the  third  of  silver  and  green,  the  fourth  of 
silver  and  crimson.  Each  man  kept  a  servant,  and 
all  were  housed  in  a  magnificent  barracks. 

Naturally  the  chocolateros,  as  the  citizens  rather 
disdainfully  termed  them,  carried  their  heads  very 
high,  although  they  had  to  support  their  dignity  on 
a  pay  of  two  shillings  a  day.  The  gleam  of  their 
bandoleers  set  many  hearts  a-fluttering  at  the  evening 
promenade  ;  they  were  not  left,  we  may  be  sure,  like 
vulgar  lovers,  to  stare  for  hours  at  their  lady's  bower 
from  the  street  below.  Angry  husbands  and  fathers 
knew  better  than  to  cross  swords  with  his  majesty's 
guards.  Duennas  were  indulgent  and  the  watch 
unobservant.     As,  too,  these  gallant  gentlemen  dis- 


A  Gentleman  Cadet  21 

tributed  their  favours  between  duchesses  and  dairy- 
maids with  strict  impartiality,  they  were  forgiven 
their  haughty  bearing  by  the  people  of  Madrid.  It 
was  an  idle  life  but  a  merry  one  that  these  toy  soldiers 
led,  although  their  emoluments  were  inconsiderable. 

Far  otherwise,  Godoy  would  have  us  believe,  was 
his  life  in  those  early  years.     "  The  distractions  of 
the  court,"  he  gravely  assures  us,  "  did  not  weaken 
my   taste   for   literature   and   the   arts.     Among   my 
comrades  were  two  young  Frenchmen,  the  brothers 
Joubert,  both  of  most  amiable  character  and  passion- 
ately   devoted    to    study.     The    warmest    friendship 
immediately  united  us — a  true  and  generous  friend- 
ship such  as   one  experiences  only  at  that  age.     It 
pleases   me  to  recall   the  name  of  the  Jouberts,   to 
whom  I  owe  my  knowledge  of  the  French  and  Italian 
languages.     Careful  reading,  long  and  profitable  con- 
versations,   occupied    all    our   leisure    time.     I    must 
mention,  too,  with  eternal  gratitude,  the  venerable 
Padre  Enguid  and  other  learned   men  of  his  order 
[that  of  the  Holy  Ghost],  true  Christian  philosophers, 
who   gave   me   excellent   lessons.     It   was   they  who 
taught  me,  first,  never  to  let  myself  be  carried  away 
by  the  heat  of  argument ;  nextly,  to  be  always  on  guard 
against  prejudices  and  sophistry.    These  were  my  earliest 
social  relations,  certainly  the  most  agreeable  to  me, 
so  long  as  I  was  free  to  choose.    I  was  seldom  seen  at  the 
theatre,  more  rarely  still  at  the  court  entertainments 
and  public  festivals.     Gambling  was  always  distasteful 
to  me — it  is  killing  time  instead  of  employing  it." 

Excellent  sentiments  in  a  guardsman  not  yet 
twenty  !  I  suspect,  in  fact,  that  this  account  of  his 
time  was  originally  prepared  for  the  edification  of  his 


22  Godoy :  the  Queen*s  Favourite 

relatives  in  Estremadura  rather  than  for  the  public. 
It  is  to  be  doubted  whether  a  young  officer  of  conduct 
so  exemplary  would  be  tolerated  even  in  the  Royal 
Engineers.  If  Godoy  is  to  be  believed,  certainly  he 
has  reason  to  complain  of  the  account  given  by  his 
enemies  of  this  period  of  his  career.  "  He  was  often 
obliged  to  lie  in  bed,"  says  one  sprightly  chronicler, 
"  while  his  only  shirt  was  at  the  wash.  [An  awkward 
predicament,  truly,  for  one  who  might  be  called  on 
at  any  moment  to  mount  guard  at  the  palace  !]  An 
eating-house  keeper  of  Madrid,  who  had  taken  a 
liking  to  him,  maintained  him  on  credit ;  and  his 
patience  was  sustained  by  the  boleros  which  the  future 
prince  accompanied  on  the  guitar."  ^  Now  this  is 
a  flight  of  fancy  surpassing  Godoy's  own  ;  for,  as  he 
passionately  protested  and  as  all  his  friends  could 
testify,  he  had  no  more  voice  than  a  crow,  and,  if 
his  life  had  depended  on  it,  could  not  have  played 
so  much  as  a  tambourine. 

Comparing  these  two  accounts,  it  is  safe  to  assume 
that  the  future  statesman  was,  in  his  later  teens,  a 
lively  young  spark;  sometimes  at  shifts  for  money, 
fond  of  the  girls  and  beloved  by  them,  but  cherishing 
a  Spaniard's  regard  for  the  honour  of  his  name.  His 
good  looks,  his  graceful  bearing,  and  a  kindness  of 
heart  extremely  rare  in  Spain,  must  have  won  him 
popularity  and  made  life  pleasant  for  him  while 
wearing  the  silver  bandoleer.  If  he  was  ambitious 
at  all,  it  was,  he  tells  us,  of  military  glory.  But, 
sober  student  or  penniless  profligate,  he  was  presently 
subjected  to  a  temptation  against  which  an  anchorite 
might  not  have  been  proof. 

*  "  Biographic  Nouvelle  des  Contemporains."    Paris,  1822. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE   PRINCESS    OF   THE   SPAINS 

When  Manuel  Godoy  entered  his  service  King 
Charles  III.  was  already  an  old  man.  His  eldest  son 
and  namesake,  the  prince  of  Asturias,  was  not  far 
off  his  fortieth  year.  This  time  it  had  become  plain 
to  everybody  that  the  prince  had  not  inherited  his 
father's  abilities.  He  was  a  dull,  simple  man,  not 
unlike  our  George  III.  in  temperament.  He  was 
straightforward  and  just,  not  wanting  in  common 
sense  but  destitute  of  all  the  qualities  which  make  a 
ruler.  Like  his  cousin  of  France,  he  delighted  in  the 
ruder  mechanical  arts.  He  might  have  earned  his 
livelihood  as  a  carpenter,  and  was  always  glad  of  an 
opportunity  of  exhibiting  the  elaborate  water-work 
displays  of  La  Gran j a  to  ambassadors  and  distinguished 
visitors. 

His  other  amusements  were  not  so  harmless.  He 
had  a  passion  for  the  chase,  or  rather  for  the  indis- 
criminate slaughter  of  deer,  wild  boars,  and  foxes, 
as  they  were  driven  into  enclosures  before  him. 
Eden,  the  English  ambassador  at  the  Spanish  court, 
describes  one  of  these  horrible  battues  in  his  journal, 
under  the  date  October  3,  1788  :  "  About  two  thou- 
sand deer  passed,  and  two  foxes,  and  one  wild  boar. 
The  king  and  prince  selected  only  the  fat  bucks,  and 
avoided  killing  the  does  as  much  as  possible,  though 

23 


24  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

in  the  crowds  which  passed  some  of  the  latter  neces- 
sarily suffered.  The  fineness  of  the  day  and  the 
noise  of  above  two  thousand  people  who  were  em- 
ployed, and  the  largeness  of  the  herds  made  it  cer- 
tainly an  interesting  sight ;  but  in  other  respects 
it  was  piteous  enough,  for  in  front  of  the  place  and 
within  a  few  yards  of  us,  the  dead  and  the  wounded 
were  all  lying,  either  bleeding  or  struggling  ;  some 
only  with  legs  broken,  etc.  At  last  it  was  finished, 
and  then  the  chasseurs  ran  in  and  soon  put  all  the 
poor  beasts  out  of  pain  that  had  any  life  remaining  ; 
in  order  to  do  this,  however,  dogs  were  also  necessary 
as  to  several.  The  whole  were  then  extended  in  a  row 
upon  the  grass,  in  order  to  be  opened.  .  .  .  The  smell 
of  so  much  warm  blood  was  very  unpleasant." 
Not  to  the  catholic  king  and  his  son,  who,  like  so 
many  sovereigns  in  our  own  day,  were  never  so  happy 
as  when  butchering  defenceless  animals.  "  We  rode 
from  half-past  one  to  six,"  writes  his  excellency  next 
day,  "  with  his  majesty  and  the  prince  to  see  them 
shoot  stags,  and  the  poor  beasts  stood  for  that  purpose 
as  quiet  as  calves  in  a  farm-yard."  A  few  months 
later  we  read  of  Charles  the  younger  going  forth  with 
six  field-pieces  and  turning  them  upon  two  thousand 
deer  cooped  up  in  an  enclosure,  his  wife  and  son 
being  present  on  this  happy  occasion. 

In  these  cowardly  and  beastly  practices  (certainly 
not  peculiar  to  Spain  or  to  the  eighteenth  century) 
the  prince  of  Asturias  was  carefully  instructed  by  his 
father,  from  whom  he  received  no  training  whatever 
for  the  destined  kingship.  It  seems  as  if  Charles  III. 
was  wishful  to  demonstrate  the  absurdity  of  hereditary 
monarchy,  and  to  prove  how  the  work  of  a  wise  father 


The  Princess  of  the  Sjpains  25 

might  be  undone  by  a  foolish  son.  He  exhibited 
some  of  the  oriental  despot's  jealousy  of  his  heir,  and 
rigorously  excluded  him  from  all  part  in  state  affairs. 
The  prince  was  naturally  a  fool,  and  this  was  not  the 
way  to  make  him  anything  else.  He  was  kept  in 
leading-strings  long  after  he  had  become  the  father 
of  a  family.  Allowed  no  will  of  his  own  by  his  father, 
he  became,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  dupe  and  the 
unconscious  minion  of  his  wife  and  cousin,  Doiia 
Maria  Luisa  de  Bourbon. 

This  princess  was  the  daughter  of  his  father's 
brother,  the  duke  of  Parma.  She  was  three  years 
younger  than  he,  and  had  been  married  to  him  at  the 
age  of  fourteen.  The  king  being  a  widower,  she  was 
the  greatest  lady  in  Spain.  Her  education  was  vastly 
superior  to  that  of  most  princesses.  Like  her  brother's, 
it  had  been  conducted  by  the  philosopher  Condillac, 
who  seems  to  some  extent  to  have  undermined  her 
religious  faith. 

Maria  Luisa  grew  into  a  woman  of  coarse  fibre  and 
feverish  passions.  She  was  twice  as  much  a  man  as 
her  husband,  whose  confidence  in  her  was  boundless. 
She  seems  to  have  regarded  him  with  real  affection. 
Married  to  him  so  young,  she  looked  on  him,  no  doubt, 
as  an  essential  part  of  her  life.  It  was  a  part  which 
she  determined  should  not  be  taken  from  her.  She 
neglected  nothing  to  keep  him  under  her  thumb,  and 
exhibited  furious  jealousy  at  the  mere  approach  of 
another  woman.  Her  fears  were  aggravated  as  her 
beauty  waned.  Child-bearing,  sickness,  and  the 
violence  of  her  own  emotions  made  her  an  ugly 
woman  at  thirty.  From  Goya's  canvases  she  ogles 
us,  coarse-featured   and  tousle-headed,  in  a  skimpy 


26  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

girlish  costume,  yet  her  face  is  full  of  animation  and 
her  black  eyes  sparkle  with  desire.  Her  shape  was 
good,  and  she  may  not  have  been  without  charm. 
The  will  to  please  is  certainly  there,  if  not  the  means. 
She  was  at  least  a  live  woman. 

This  was  early  perceived,  with  distress  and  in- 
dignation, by  her  father-in-law.  He  perceived  that 
in  her  the  passions  of  her  sensual  sires  had  come  to 
life.  He  hoped  to  still  them  in  the  death-like  stagna- 
tion of  his  court.  There,  says  Bourgoing,  nothing 
was  so  rare  as  public  rejoicings  and  noisy  pleasure. 
"  The  residences  of  the  court  of  Spain  have  very 
few  resources  of  amusement.  They  have  no  plays, 
no  public  games,  no  large  assemblies  except  on  days 
of  ceremony,  and  consequently  these  places  are  un- 
inhabited except  by  a  very  few  persons." 

The  companionship  of  her  stupid  consort  was  very 
far  from  consoling  Maria  Luisa  for  the  dullness  of  her 
life,  though  it  enabled  her  to  rivet  her  chains  more 
firmly  upon  him.  The  fidelity  she  exacted  from  the 
poor  wretch  she  did  not  consider  to  be  binding  upon 
herself.  She  was  the  kind  of  woman  to  whom  a  suc- 
cession of  lovers — ^preferably  two  or  three  at  a  time — 
is  an  absolute  necessity.  This  was  never  for  an  instant 
suspected  by  the  guileless  Charles,  the  typical  husband 
of  French  farces.  He  was  heard  one  day  to  observe 
that  princes  were  in  one  respect,  at  any  rate,  more 
fortunate  than  other  men :  their  wives  were  less 
liable  to  temptation,  owing  to  the  excellence  of  their 
education  and  the  practical  difficulty  of  finding  other 
royal  personages  to  be  their  partners  in  guilt.  Upon 
which  his  highness's  sage  father  shook  his  head  and 
wearily  exclaimed,  "  Carlos,  Carlos,  que  tonto  tu  eres  I " 


The  Princess  of  the  Spains  27 

(Charles,  Charles,  how  foolish  you  are  !)  adding  under 
his  breath,  "  Todas,  si  todas,  son  putas  "  (All,  yes,  all 
of  them  are  strumpets !). 

This  was  a  senseless  verdict  if  passed  on  the  whole 
of  the  sex,  but  one  which  the  princess  of  Asturias 
certainly  did  her  best  to  merit.  Charles  III.  watched 
her  with  sleepless  vigilance,  and  placed  her  under 
supervision.  To  defeat  him,  she  would  resort  to 
malingering,  and,  when  the  court  moved,  insisted 
that  she  was  too  ill  to  travel.  Her  health  rapidly 
improved  when  the  king  ordered  her  to  be  trans- 
ported in  an  invalid's  chair.  But  her  own  husband 
was  her  innocent  accessory,  and  it  was  to  the  interest 
of  every  one  about  the  palace  to  curry  favour  with 
the  prospective  queen  of  Spain.  Charles  III.  could 
not  live  much  longer,  and  even  the  disgrace  he  might 
inflict  could  at  the  most  be  only  temporary.  For 
all  his  severity,  and  in  spite  of  her  own  pretence  of 
decorum  and  domesticity,  the  princess  of  Asturias 
had  established  a  reputation  for  gallantry  through- 
out the  length  and  breadth  of  Europe  long  before 
middle  age. 

The  curious  in  such  matters  may  turn  to  a  little  book 
printed  at  Riga  in  the  year  1797,  which  purports  to 
give  the  history  of  her  amours.  We  are  told  that 
her  royal  highness  first  bestowed  her  favours  on  a 
certain  lady-killing  marquis,  who  somewhat  reluctantly 
accepted  them.  His  reluctance  was  justified  when 
presently  Charles  III.  appointed  him  to  some  post 
in  the  Canaries  and  ordered  him  to  depart  from 
Madrid  within  twenty-four  hours.  The  princess 
promptly  consoled  herself  with  the  young  Count 
Lancaster — the  scion   of  a   Portuguese  house  which 


28  Godoy:  the  Queen*s  Favourite 

traces  its  descent  from  John  of  Gaunt ;  and,  almost 
as  promptly,  he  too  was  sent  to  join  the  marquis  in 
the  Canaries. 

While  these  unfortunate  noblemen  were,  perhaps, 
comparing  their  experience  of  her  tenderness  in  those 
balmy  isles,  Maria  Luisa  (so  it  is  said)  had  fallen  a 
victim  to  the  charms  of  Count  Pignatelli.  This 
bewitching  young  man  was  already  the  lover,  or 
cortejo,  of  that  duchess  of  Alba  whose  loveliness 
Goya  has  immortalised.  For  a  long  time  Pignatelli 
successfully  played  one  lady  off  against  the  other, 
and  was  loaded  with  presents  by  both.  Between  the 
proverbial  two  stools  he  came  to  the  ground.  Satisfied 
at  last  that  his  affections  were  given  to  her  rival, 
the  princess  persuaded  her  father-in-law  to  pack  him 
off  to  the  legation  at  Paris. 

The  beautiful  duchess  was  for  some  time  incon- 
solable. Thenceforward,  she  and  the  princess  were 
at  daggers  drawn.  After  her  husband's  accession 
to  the  throne,  Maria  Luisa  secured  her  enemy's 
exile  to  San  Lucar  de  Barrameda,  on  the  Andalusian 
coast.  Even  in  her  retreat  her  grace  inflicted  a  defeat 
on  the  queen  ;  for  she  drew  with  her  from  the  court 
the  famous  Goya,  on  whom  her  majesty  had  lavished 
kindness.  At  the  end  of  the  year  the  artist  returned 
to  court  and  prevailed  on  the  queen  to  pardon  his 
mistress.  The  duchess  reappeared  in  Madrid,  and 
died  soon  after  in  the  heyday  of  her  beauty. 

Maria  Luisa  had  long  forgotten  the  cause  of  their 
antagonism.  The  memory  of  Pignatelli  was  effaced 
by  the  endearments  of  one  Ortiz,  a  gentleman  of 
her  husband's  household.  According  to  Blanco  White 
— a  more  trustworthy  informant  than  the  anonymous 


The  Princess  of  the  Spains  29 

scandal-monger  of  Riga — this  cavalier  was  the  first 
of  the  princess's  favourites  to  incur  the  suspicion  of 
the  king.  Ortiz  was  banished  to  the  farthest  corner 
of  Spain.  Unable  to  endure  his  absence,  and  not 
being  able  at  the  moment  to  lay  hands  on  a  substitute, 
Maria  Luisa  engaged  her  husband  to  obtain  the 
loved  one's  recall.  Charles  seized  a  favourable  oppor- 
tunity and  implored  his  father  to  restore  Ortiz  to 
his  wife,  "  who  was  quite  unhappy  without  him,  as 
he  amused  her  immensely."  The  king,  sad  to  say, 
proved  inflexible,  and  rebuked  his  heir  with  more 
vehemence  than  politeness  for  his  excessive  con- 
sideration for  his  wife. 

It  was  now,  when  the  princess  of  Asturias  was  in 
her  thirty-sixth  or  thirty-seventh  year,  that  her 
wayward  passion  became  fixed  for  life.  Hencefor- 
ward the  centre  of  her  existence  was  to  be  the  guards- 
man from  Badajoz.  Till  now  her  vagrant  fancies 
had  harmed  none  but  their  objects.  Her  passions 
ripened  with  her  years,  and  at  last  scorched  not  only 
her  beloved  but  her  dynasty  and  the  kingdom. 

*'  For  lovers  there  are  many  eyes."  So  sings  a 
recognised  authority,  and  each  eye  seems  to  have 
seen  a  different  beginning  to  the  love  of  Maria  Luisa 
for  Godoy. 

Si  par  aventure  Ton  s'enquete. 
Qui  m'a  valu  telle  conquete, 
C'est  Failure  de  mon  cheval.  .  .  . 

The  guardsman  might  have  given  such  an  explana- 
tion, for,  by  one  account,  he  owed  his  rise  in  the  world 
to  a  fall  from  his  horse.  The  princess,  on  whom  he 
was    in    attendance,    noticed    the    unfortunate    and 


30  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

graceful  rider,  and  went  home  more  deeply  scarred 
than  he. 

This  version  is  not  incompatible  with  that  of  the 
lively  chronicler,  Bermejo.  Having  become  aware 
of  his  royal  mistress's  interest,  Manuel  may  well 
have  schemed  to  reawaken  it  at  the  first  opportunity. 
On  Good  Friday  the  great  crucifix  was  borne  by 
four  of  his  corps  through  the  streets  of  Madrid. 
Tinged,  perhaps,  with  the  philosophy  of  his  French 
friends,  the  Jouberts,  the  young  Godoy  persuaded 
his  comrades  that  this  office  was  beneath  their  dignity. 
He  was  thereupon  deputed  to  draw  up  a  respectful 
remonstrance  to  the  king.  Before  the  paper  had  been 
signed  it  was  annexed  by  the  sergeant-major,  who 
forbade  the  petition.  On  looking  through  it,  how- 
ever, he  found  its  terms  sufficiently  amusing,  and 
showed  it  to  the  prince  and  princess  of  Asturias,  both 
of  whom  laughed  heartily  and  inquired  who  was  its 
author.     They  were  presently  to  learn. 

Manuel  was  one  of  the  four  bearers  of  the  crucifix 
on  the  holy  day.  All  went  well  for  a  time  ;  then 
suddenly  it  was  noticed  that  the  sacred  effigy  was 
dancing  and  waggling  on  its  bier  in  a  most  unbecoming 
manner.  Hearing  cries  of  wonderment  and  of  irre- 
verent mirth  from  the  bystanders,  the  priest  walking 
before  the  crucifix  turned  and  sternly  rebuked  the 
bearers  for  their  careless  demeanour.  Godoy,  on 
behalf  of  his  comrades,  promptly  replied,  "  Is  it  our 
fault  if  the  Lord  chooses  to  dance  on  the  day  of  His 
funeral  ?  "  To  avoid  further  scandal,  the  priest  was 
silent  and  proceeded. 

The  procession  soon  after  halted  before  the  house 
of  the  count  of  Onate.     The  balconies  were  crowded 


The  Princess  of  the  Spains  31 

with  ladies.  In  leisurely  fashion  the  young  Extre- 
mefio  produced  from  his  pocket  a  handful  of  the 
acorns  dear  not  only  to  the  pigs  but  to  the  people 
of  his  native  province.  He  munched  some  of  these 
with  apparent  gusto,  and  then  aimed  the  rest  at  the 
ladies  looking  down  on  him,  to  their  boundless  de- 
light. The  crowd  always  cheers  the  man  who  enjoys  a 
meal  or  a  drink  on  a  solemn  and  inappropriate  occasion. 
The  guardsman's  irreverence  was  forgotten,  and  he  was 
voted  "  a  good  sort."  Thus  encouraged,  he  and  his 
comrades  managed,  before  the  end  of  the  journey,  to 
let  the  crucifix  fall  and  crack  on  the  pavement. 

Manuel's  conduct  amounted  to  little  less  than 
sacrilege.  He  was  denounced  by  the  clergy  to  his 
officers,  and  was  hailed  in  the  last  resort  before  the 
prince  of  Asturias,  By  this  time  Maria  Luisa  had 
recognised  the  handsome  soldier  and  had  disposed 
her  husband  to  treat  the  affair  as  a  joke.  The  sergeant- 
major  also  did  his  best  to  extenuate  his  subordinate's 
offence.  The  princess  smilingly  questioned  the  de- 
linquent about  the  acorns.  Had  he  any  remaining  ? 
Yes,  he  had,  and  he  begged  her  royal  highness  to 
taste  them.  They  had  made  a  good  meal,  she  would 
deign  to  remember,  for  the  Ingenious  Knight  of  La 
Mancha.  The  princess  did  taste  them,  and  pro- 
nounced them  excellent.  The  kindly  sergeant-major, 
seeing  the  direction  of  the  wind,  now  hastened  to 
inform  Charles  that  Godoy  was  an  expert  draughts- 
player.  "  Excellent !  "  cried  the  simple-minded 
prince,  "  I  am  devoted  to  the  game.  The  next  time 
you  are  on  duty  at  my  door  you  shall  play  with  me." 
"  At  your  royal  highness's  service,"  said  Godoy,  and, 
saluting,  was  dismissed. 


32  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

I  confess  this  account  of  his  introduction  to  Maria 
Luisa  impresses  me  as  more  piquant  than  plausible. 
Letting  a  crucifix  tumble  in  the  mud  was  not  the 
way  in  Spain  to  win  the  sovereign's  favour,  and  would 
certainly  have  brought  down  on  the  offender  the 
heavy  hand  of  the  Holy  Office.  Moreover,  the 
matter  would  have  been  inquired  into  by  the  king, 
and  not  the  prince  ;  and  it  is  certain  that  this  her 
last  long  amour  began  before  Maria  Luisa  became 
queen.  I  am  more  disposed  to  credit  the  story 
told  by  the  Irish  Spaniard,  Blanco  White.*  He  will 
have  it  that,  after  the  banishment  of  Ortiz,  her  high- 
ness became  aware  of  the  fascinations  of  Manuel's 
elder  brother  Luis,  whom  she  had  often  seen  on  duty 
about  the  palace.  The  course  of  true  love  ran,  as 
usual,  over  the  abyss,  and  the  guardsman  found  him- 
self relegated,  like  his  predecessors,  to  the  distant 
provinces.  The  king's  household  must  have  been 
pretty  well  thinned  by  this  time. 

Luis  was  packed  off  in  such  a  hurry  that  he  had 
no  time  to  take  leave  of  his  enchantress.  His  farewell 
message  was  therefore  entrusted  to  Manuel,  who, 
with  a  solemnity  which  may  be  imagined,  promised 
to  act  as  his  brother's  intermediary.  This  he  was 
able  to  do  with  ease,  as  Maria  Luisa,  like  all  the  other 
members  of  the  royal  family,  had  her  own  guard  of 
honour  stationed  day  and  night  at  the  entrance 
to  her  apartments.  Manuel  contrived  to  be  drawn 
for  duty  with  the  princess,  and  upon  a  given  signal 
was  received  by  her  in  a  secret  closet.  The  result 
of    this    intercourse    might    have    been    foreseen    by 

^  Confirmed  in  most  of  the  particulars  by  the  report  of  the  Russian 
ambassador,  Zinoviev. 


Qri:i;N    makia   i.lmsa, 
(Goya) 


33 


The  Princess  ol  the  Spains  35 

Luis.     The  absent  lover  stood  no  chance  beside  his 
young  and  captivating  ambassador. 

I  do  not  suppose  that  Manuel  had  deliberately 
proposed  to  supplant  his  brother.  The  fact  of  his 
selection  for  this  embassy  gives  some  colour  to  his 
account  of  himself  at  this  time  as  a  quiet  and 
studious  youth.  But  the  voluptuous  and  love-sick 
princess  was  able  to  bring  tremendous  pressure  to 
bear  on  him.  To  resist  her  entreaties  meant  instant 
disgrace,  not  only  perhaps  for  himself,  but  for  his 
brother.  Besides,  every  young  man  feels  that,  in  the 
like  circumstances,  Joseph  acted  v^^ith  gross  incivility. 
To  yield  might  also  mean  disgrace  in  the  long  run, 
but  it  also  meant  pleasure  and  profit  in  the  present. 
The  young  guardsman  knew  that  his  face  was  his 
fortune,  and  that  he  was  offered  the  best  investment 
he  was  ever  likely  to  find. 

Of  course,  we  are  equally  free  to  believe  that  he 
deliberately  wormed  his  way  into  the  affections  of 
a  woman  sixteen  years  his  senior,  encouraged  by  his 
knowledge  of  her  previous  amorous  adventures.  He 
might  have  soothed  his  conscience  with  the  reflection 
that  Charles  would  never  believe  in  his  wife's  in- 
fidelity, and  could  not  therefore  be  injured  by  it, 
and  that  no  man  had  any  right  to  expect  fidelity 
from  a  woman  when  he  had  married  her  as  a  girl 
of  fourteen.  However  he  may  have  first  attracted 
her  notice — whether  by  a  fall  from  his  horse,  by  a 
present  of  acorns,  or  as  the  delegate  of  his  brother — 
Manuel  Godoy,  guardsman,  became,  willingly  or  un- 
willingly, the  lover  of  the  princess  of  Asturias. 

That  he  escaped  the  fate  of  his  predecessors  is 
proof  that  his   ascendancy  dates  from  the  last  few 

3 


36  Godoy :   the  Queen^s  Favourite 

months  of  the  reign  of  Charles  III.  That  wise  and 
benevolent  despot  died  on  December  14,  1788,  leaving 
Spain  more  prosperous  than  she  had  been  for  two 
hundred  years,  and  yet  insufficiently  prepared  for 
the  storm  at  that  moment  brewing  north  of  the 
Pyrenees. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   FIRST   RUMBLE    OF   THE   STORM 

Charles  IV.  began  his  reign  at  the  age  of  forty  years. 
At  that  time  of  life  most  men  consider  themselves 
equal,  single-handed,  to  any  responsibility.  Not  so 
the  new  king.  Now  his  leading-strings  were  cut, 
he  clutched  eagerly  at  the  nearest  figure  for  support. 
On  the  first  day  of  his  reign  the  ministers  and  am- 
bassadors were  received  by  him  and  his  wife  jointly, 
and  from  that  moment  the  share  of  the  queen  in 
the  government  was  admitted  as  a  matter  of  course 
without  any  effort  or  solicitation  by  her.* 

Obedient  to  his  father's  last  injunctions,  Charles 
kept  in  office  his  old  and  tried  minister,  the  count 
of  Floridablanca.  That  statesman  had  certainly  made 
some  efforts  to  secure  his  favour  eighteen  months 
before,  and  had  endeavoured  to  initiate  him  privately 
into  the  business  of  statecraft.  He  thoroughly  under- 
stood his  new-made  majesty,  and  knew  how  to  manage 
him.  Of  Maria  Luisa,  on  the  other  hand,  he  had 
made  an  enemy  by  his  interference  with  her  amours. 
Anticipating  her  resentment,  within  a  fortnight  from 
the  accession  he  hinted  that  he  was  ready  to  resign. 
**  It  is  not  yet  time,"  replied  the  queen.     It  was  an 

*  Jovellanos,    quoted    by    Arteche,    "  Historia    del    Reinado    de 
Carlos  IV." 

37 


38  Godoy:  the  Queen*s  Favourite 

ambiguous  answer,  to  which,  however,  her  behaviour 
for  some  time  after  lent  no  sinister  meaning.  It 
was  not  time  for  any  minister  to  talk  of  resigning  till 
the  new  sovereigns  were  able  to  look  round  and 
consider  their  position. 

Free  at  last  from  the  surveillance  of  her  husband's 
father,  Maria  Luisa  might  have  been  expected  to 
give  the  rein  to  licence  and  to  inaugurate  a  sort  of 
saturnalia.  On  the  contrary,  she  withdrew  more 
from  the  public  gaze,  as  if  anxious  to  disappoint  the 
expectations  of  her  detractors,  and  set  spies  to  work 
to  find  out  in  what  repute  the  crown  was  held, 
"  Never  has  the  court  been  so  lugubrious,"  wrote 
ZInoviev,  the  Russian  ambassador,  eight  months  after 
her  accession.  "  It  is  everywhere  penetrated  with 
suspicion.  There  are  no  more  large  assemblies. 
Every  one  avoids  appearing  at  court  for  fear  of  falling 
into  disgrace  on  a  bare  suspicion.  The  diplomatic 
body  seems  to  be  shunned.  The  queen  understands 
quite  well  that  It  is  the  principal  occupation  of  diplo- 
matists to  observe  all  that  is  passing  at  courts  and 
thereby  to  fathom  their  intrigues.  She  Is  by  no 
means  expansive  with  them.  She  receives  foreigners 
only  twice  a  week,  whereas  formerly  she  would  receive 
them  every  day.  We  could  remain  invisible  for 
months  together  without  on  that  account  being  any 
worse  received." 

The  old  prime  minister  watched  the  queen  in  her 
new  mood  narrowly.  If  he  had  interfered  in  her 
amours  in  the  past  it  had  been  out  of  complaisance 
to  his  master  for  the  time  being.  Now,  recognising 
the  queen's  influence  over  her  husband,  he  showed 
himself  ready  to  serve  her,  and,  even  as  far  as  his 


The  First  Rumble  of  the  Storm  39 

stiff,  unbending  nature  would  allow,  to  humour 
her  proteges.  Maria  Lulsa  was  not  insensible  to 
these  overtures,  and  found  it  politic  to  let  her  ani- 
mosity against  the  statesman  slumber.  She  was  not 
yet  strong  enough  to  upset  his  dominion  over  her 
husband,  and  at  times  found  his  connivance  useful. 

Charles  showed  himself  to  be  little  oppressed  by 
the  new  burden  of  sovereignty,  and  divided  his  time 
about  equally  between  butchering  animals  and  doing 
little  odd  jobs  such  as  carpentering  and  plumbing 
about  the  palace.  He  was  disposed  to  leave  all  the 
cares  of  state  to  his  minister  ;  but  now  and  again 
he  would  startle  his  council  by  outbursts  of  temper, 
which  his  wife  alone  could  with  difficulty  subdue. 

It  was  not  yet  time,  as  the  queen  had  said,  to 
drop  the  pilot  of  the  State.  The  cloud,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  reign  no  bigger  than  a  man's  hand, 
loomed  large  before  the  year  was  out,  and  hung  red 
and  murky  over  France.  It  was  plain  to  all  men  that 
more  than  a  common  storm  was  brewing.  On  July  14, 
1789,  the  first  lightnings  shattered  the  Bastille  to 
its  foundations.  Charles,  at  his  lathe,  heard  the 
shock,  and  looked  up  wondering ;  Maria  Luisa 
turned  her  eyes  instinctively  for  advice  and  help 
to  the  minister  she  secretly  hated. 

Floridablanca's  task  was  to  preserve  Spain  from 
the  contagion  of  the  French  revolution.  He  had 
dabbled  himself  in  reform  under  the  direction  of  his 
late  sovereign,  but  now  the  signal  was  "  Full  speed 
astern."  He  drew  a  kind  of  sanitary  cordon  along 
the  frontier  and  put  France  in  quarantine.  He 
would  have  liked  to  stamp  out  the  revolutionary 
fever  by  more  violent   means,  but  he  was  conscious 


40  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

of  the  weakness  of  Spain,  and  allowed  himself  to  be 
guided  by  the  calculating  empress  of  Russia.  And 
while  France  remained  nominally  at  least  a  con- 
stitutional monarchy,  he  could  not  afford  to  disdain 
her  assistance.  In  1790  he  embroiled  his  country 
with  England,  over  the  affair  of  Nootka  Sound.  He 
did  not  hesitate  to  solicit  the  help  of  France,  and 
had  to  submit  to  his  request  being  considered  by  the 
Assembly.  War  with  England  might  have  resulted 
had  not  Lord  St.  Helens,  the  British  ambassador, 
succeeded  in  arriving  at  an  understanding  with 
Charles  in  person. 

Still  haunted  by  the  fear  of  England,  Floridablanca 
persisted  not  less  in  his  animosity  towards  the  new 
forces  In  France.  By  a  decree  of  April  12,  1 791,  all 
newspapers  In  Spain  except  the  official  gazette  were 
suppressed,  and  the  Introduction  of  books  or  pamphlets 
from  the  infected  area  was  forbidden  under  severe 
penalties.  In  July  finally  every  foreigner  In  Spain 
was  summoned  by  royal  decree  to  swear  allegiance  to 
the  king  of  Spain  and  the  catholic  religion,  and  to 
renounce,  under  pain  of  Imprisonment,  all  right  of 
appeal  to  the  representatives  of  his  nation.  Even 
the  passage  of  occasional  travellers  was  permitted 
only  under  narrow  restrictions.  The  edict  applied 
nominally  to  all  foreigners,  but  against  the  French 
alone  was  it  enforced  ;  and  by  the  French  it  was 
accepted  as  an  insult  and  a  challenge. 

The  imprudence  of  thus  irritating  a  power  whom 
Spain  had  not  the  strength  to  attack  presently  became 
apparent.  In  his  concern  for  monarchy,  Florida- 
blanca forgot  the  unfortunate  monarch  of  the  French. 
The   luckless   Louis   was   held   by   his   subjects   as   a 


The  First  Rumble  of  the  Storm  41 

hostage  for  the  good  behaviour  of  his  fellow  sover- 
eigns, and  more  particularly  of  his  cousin  of  Spain. 
The  indiscretions  of  his  self-appointed  champions 
might  at  any  moment  precipitate  a  catastrophe. 
Aware  of  this,  Louis  wrote  personally  to  Charles, 
announcing  that  he  had  accepted  the  constitution, 
and  urging  him  to  mediate  between  France  and  the 
Powers. 

Floridablanca  refused  to  acknowledge  the  consti- 
tution, and  told  the  French  ambassador  that  he  no 
longer  regarded  Louis  as  the  master  of  his  own  actions. 
**  A  slave,"  he  remarked,  "  when  he  cannot  break  his 
chains,  will  kiss  them,  and  will  try  to  secure  better 
treatment  by  fawning  on  his  master."  To  Louis's 
appeal,  the  count  replied  on  November  19,  saying 
that  his  catholic  majesty  needed  more  time  and  a 
longer  experience  of  the  conduct  of  the  French  to- 
wards their  king  and  towards  Spain  before  he  could 
return  a  categorical  reply. 

The  minister  probably  did  not  give  his  catholic 
majesty  a  chance  of  replying.  He  presumed  the 
king  to  be  engrossed  in  his  trivial  pleasures,  and  seldom 
consulted  him  or  his  colleagues  on  matters  of  moment. 
But  Charles  seems  to  have  been  aroused  at  last  to 
the  danger  to  which  his  cousin  was  exposed.  Louis, 
on  hearing  of  his  accession,  had  remarked  that  it  was 
not  of  much  consequence,  as  every  one  knew  that  the 
new  king  was  a  mere  cipher,  completely  under  the 
thumb  of  his  wife.  The  sneer  had  rankled  long  in 
Charles's  memory,  but  it  was  forgotten  or  forgiven 
now.  After  all  blood,  however  blue,  is  thicker  than 
water.  To  save  his  cousin's  life,  it  was  necessary 
to  part  with  his  imperious  minister.     If  the  king  did 


42  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

not  himself  realise  this,  it  was  no  doubt  brought  home 
to  him  hy  Floridablanca's  innumerable  enemies. 
His  majesty  hesitated,  bound  by  a  promise  to  his 
dead  father. 

"  Perhaps,"  says  Lord  Holland,  "  his  scruples  would 
never  have  yielded,  but  for  an  accident  which  gave 
to  the  resolution  the  appearance  and  indeed  the 
reality  of  an  act  of  justice  arising  out  of  virtuous 
indignation  at  misconduct.  Floridablanca  had  insti- 
gated a  prosecution  for  libel  against  a  certain  marquis 
of  Mancas,  employed  formerly  as  Spanish  envoy  at 
Copenhagen.  In  his  eagerness  to  procure  a  sentence 
against  him,  he  had  the  imprudence  to  dictate  it  in 
a  letter  to  the  president,  or  the  acting  president,  of 
the  Council  of  Castile,  whom  he  knew  to  be  sub- 
servient to  his  designs.  While  the  courier  was  on 
his  way  from  the  Escurial  to  Madrid,  the  president 
died  of  an  apoplexy.  The  letter  being  directed  to  the 
title  of  office,  not  to  the  name  of  the  individual,  was 
delivered  to  and  opened  by  the  next  in  succession, 
upon  whom  the  duty  of  presiding  in  the  court  had 
devolved.  He  happened  to  be  either  an  upright 
magistrate  or  a  man  devoted  to  the  party  already 
formed  against  the  Prime  Minister.  He  accordingly 
despatched  a  copy  of  the  letter  to  the  king,  who, 
justly  incensed  at  so  indecent  an  interference  with 
the  course  of  justice,  and  urged  no  doubt  by  the 
queen,  overcame  all  scruple  of  breaking  his  promise 
to  his  father." 

In  the  evening  of  February  28,  1792,  his  majesty 
received  his  old  servant  with  his  accustomed  affa- 
bility and  walked  up  and  down  the  room  with  him, 
discussing  affairs  of  State.     A  few  hours  later,  Florida- 


The  First  Rumble  of  the  Storm  43 

blanca  was  aroused  from  his  sleep  by  a  royal  aide- 
de-camp,  who  informed  him  that  he  was  under  arrest 
and  must  accompany.  With  the  stoicism  of  a  true 
Castilian,  the  old  man  followed  the  officer  to  the 
door  of  the  palace,  where  a  carriage  was  in  waiting 
to  convey  him  to  Madrid.  He  asked  leave  to  write 
to  the  king.     This  was  curtly  refused. 

Zinoviev  and  the  English  ambassador  both  attri- 
buted the  Prime  Minister's  downfall  to  the  queen. 
Yet  as  late  as  June  15,  1791,  St.  Helens  wrote  home  : 
**  The  count  appears  to  enjoy  the  highest  possible 
confidence  with  both  their  catholic  majesties,  and 
his  ascendancy  over  his  antagonist,  M.  de  Lerena,  is 
so  visible  that  it  is  generally  supposed  that  the  latter 
only  remains  in  office  till  some  one  can  be  found 
to  succeed  him."  Lerena,  the  minister  of  Finance, 
is  said  by  Zinoviev  to  have  been  a  creature  of  the 
queen's,  and  to  have  given  her  as  much  money  as  she 
wanted.  It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  her  opposition 
to  Floridablanca  was  tempered  by  policy  and  that 
both  she  and  he  were  ready  enough  to  enter  into 
temporary  alliance  to  suit  their  interests  at  the 
moment.  Her  majesty  sided  with  the  Prime  Minister, 
also  against  Campomanes,  another  of  his  colleagues. 

It  is  absurd,  therefore,  to  talk  of  her  implacable 
hatred  for  the  count  and  to  make  her  mainly  re- 
sponsible for  his  dismissal.  For  this  he  had  himself 
principally  to  thank.  He  had  made  too  sure  of  his 
power  and  despised  the  advice  and  the  murmurs  of 
his  own  colleagues.  His  attitude  towards  the  revolu- 
tion satisfied  nobody.  His  impolitic  appeal  to  France 
for  help  against  England,  observes  Major  Martin 
Hume,  "  tied  the  hands  of  Spain  and  rendered  the 


44  Godoy :  the  Queen's  Favourite 

other  Powers  suspicious  of  her ;  it  was  indeed  at 
this  period,  and  not  later,  as  is  usually  asserted,  that 
the  weak  fast-and-loose  policy  of  Spain  towards 
France  which  afterwards  caused  so  much  disaster  was 
inaugurated,  and  Florldablanca  and  his  master  must 
bear  a  fair  share  of  the  burden,  all  of  which  is  usually- 
heaped  upon  Godoy." 

The  young  guardsman  was  now  a  power  to  be 
reckoned  with  at  the  Spanish  court.  Nearly  four 
years  had  passed  since  Maria  Lulsa's  wandering  glance 
had  first  crossed  with  his  ;  and,  no  doubt  to  his  own 
astonishment,  her  affection  for  him  had  waxed  stronger 
every  year.  Some  six  or  seven  months  of  her  majesty's 
favour  had  probably  been  the  most  that  the  young 
man  had  reckoned  on.  His  predecessors,  returning 
upon  the  death  of  the  old  king  from  their  places  of 
banishment,  were  living  reminders  of  the  instability 
of  his  ambiguous  position.  Among  these  discarded 
gallants  was  his  brother  Luis.  The  meeting  between 
the  two  must  have  been  interesting.  The  younger, 
we  may  suppose,  justified  his  apparent  perfidy  by 
the  necessity  of  keeping  their  royal  mistress  in  the 
family,  and  induced  him  to  forgo  his  pretensions  by 
promising  him  a  share  in  the  ultimate  spoils.  At  all 
events,  we  hear  no  more  of  any  rivalry,  latent  or  overt, 
between  the  brothers. 

Upon  the  accession  of  her  husband,  the  queen 
promoted  her  new  lover  to  the  rank  of  adjutant* 
cadet  in  the  guards.  This  step  he  might  have  merited 
by  his  military  services,  and  so  much  she  could  give 
without  murmur  or  scandal.  For  a  long  time,  it 
is  plain,  Maria  Luisa  took  Godoy  no  more  seriously 
than  her  former  lovers.     She  regarded  him  as  a  toy, 


The  First  Rumble  of  the  Storm  45 

and  had  every  intention  of  ruling  him  as  she  ruled 
her  husband.  His  influence  was  of  slow  growth. 
One  wonders  how  this  country-bred,  good-natured 
youth  succeeded  in  fettering  the  fancy  of  a  woman 
so  wayward  and  voluptuous.  At  the  court  of  Spain 
the  queen  might  have  found  lovers  more  experienced 
and  brilliant  than  he ;  but  Maria  Luisa  was  drooping 
into  the  early  autumn  of  the  southern  woman. 

The  suggestion  would  have  been  repugnant  to  her 
vanity,  but  it  may  well  be  that  Manuel  appealed  not 
only  to  her  passions  but  to  her  mother  instinct.  She 
was  on  bad  terms  with  her  sons,  Ferdinand  and  Carlos, 
for  which  no  one  who  knew  them  in  after-life  can 
blame  her.  In  the  lover  she  may  have  found  a  son. 
He  was  docile,  sweet-tempered,  solicitous  for  her 
health.  Possibly  he  liked  the  woman  for  her  own 
sake,  and  his  real  affection  became  more  precious 
than  the  simulated  passion  of  his  rivals  and  prede- 
cessors. Doubtless  he  would  never  have  dared  to 
hint  that  his  regard  for  her  was  other  than  a  lover's 
for  his  mistress.  That  I  imagine  to  have  been  the 
convention  of  their  relationship  ;  just  as  old  fogies 
in  Spanish  and  Italian  salons  bend  low  over  the 
wrinkled  hands  of  their  cronies  of  fifty  years*  standing 
and  still  whisper  through  false  teeth  the  jadaises 
which  once  meant  so  much. 

The  tiresome  mask  of  the  lover  Godoy  must  often 
have  been  able  to  throw  off  on  the  pretext  of  dis- 
sembling before  the  husband.  By  what  a  French 
biographer  delightfully  terms  a  happy  coincidence, 
the  king  grew  as  fond  as  his  queen  of  Manuel.  "  In 
fact,"  he  says  with  a  pardonable  exaggeration,  "  no 
one   has    ever    known   which    of    them    first    became 


46  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

attached  to  the  ^oung  guardsman  or  showed  him 
the  most  affection."  To  the  last  day  of  his  life 
Charles  ignored  the  common  view  of  his  favourite's 
relations  with  his  wife.  Perhaps,  by  the  time  he 
believed  it  to  be  true,  it  was  so  no  longer  ;  perhaps 
his  affection  for  Godoy  had  become  too  strong  to 
permit  him  to  resent  the  injury  supposed  to  have 
been  done  him. 

Genuine  affection  between  a  woman's  husband  and 
her  lover  is  by  no  means  rare.  Many  a  man,  in 
obedience  to  the  demands  of  society,  has  shot  at 
the  object  of  his  wife's  affections,  sincerely  hoping 
that  his  bullet  will  miss  the  mark.  When  a  man's 
passion  for  his  spouse  has  long,  long  since  evaporated 
and  he  is  too  civilised  to  have  any  sense  of  property 
in  her,  I  imagine  he  can  feel  no  keen  sense  of  injury 
against  her  paramour.  For  this  reason,  no  doubt, 
our  English  law,  so  zealous  for  the  protection  of 
true  morality,  has  thought  fit  to  whet  the  edge  of 
his  resentment  by  the  prospect  of  obtaining  good 
thumping  damages  in  hard  cash  from  the  man  who 
has  taken  what  he  did  not  prize. 

The  first  and  fervent  stages  of  her  majesty's  affec- 
tion could  hardly  have  been  agreeable  to  Don  Manuel. 
Conscious  of  her  own  meagre  attractions,  the  queen 
watched  him  jealously  and  allowed  him  to  be  ap- 
proached by  no  woman  under  the  age  of  forty-three. 
Eight  months  after  her  accession  to  the  throne,  she 
is  still  spoken  of  as  badly  wanting  counsellors,  which 
her  suspicious  nature  prevented  her  selecting.*  Godoy 
was  evidently  still  in  the  lap-dog  stage  of  evolution. 
On    the    other    hand,  we    are    told — by  the    Russian 

^  Zinoviev. 


The  First  Rtimble  of  the  Storm  47 

ambassador,  who  hated  him — that  he  was  making 
a  fortune  out  of  his  mistress  and  sold  his  good  offices 
to  the  highest  bidder. 

Even  in  the  first  year  of  the  reign,  his  good  luck 
had  created  the  bitter  envy  of  those  about  the  court. 
Other  charming  young  men  were  thrown  in  the  queen's 
way,  and  frantic  efforts  were  made  to  open  the  eyes 
of  the  king.  These  well-meant  endeavours  to  destroy 
his  majesty's  peace  of  mind  were  of  no  avail.  During 
the  summer  of  1790  Zinoviev  writes  gloomily  :  "  The 
intimacy  of  the  queen  with  Godoy  is  exhibited  more 
and  more  in  public.  Skits  are  written  about  it, 
which  penetrate  even  to  the  king's  apartments.  The 
queen  increases  the  number  of  her  spies ;  distrust 
and  agitation  prevail  among  the  people " — hardly, 
I  suppose,  because  her  majesty  was  in  love  with  a 
guardsman  ! 

However,  worse  was  to  come.  At  Christmas  the 
melancholy  Muscovite  reports  that  "  the  minister  of 
war  has  been  expelled  from  Madrid  for  having  ad- 
dressed prudent  admonitions  to  the  court ;  a  lady  of 
high  rank  went  after  him.  The  people  are  becom- 
ing gloomy,  uneasy,  and  nervous.  The  king  gives 
himself  up  as  usual  to  the  most  innocent  pleasures. 
At  the  present  time  he  is  building  a  magnificent 
manger,  which  he  visits  every  evening,  attended  by 
his  courtiers.  He  is  delighted  when  people  come 
to  admire  it." 

Good,  simple  monarch  !  when  Russian  ambassadors, 
ministers  of  war,  ladies  of  high  rank,  and  the  people 
generally  were  all  so  distressed  about  him  and  anxious 
to  make  him  distressed,  too  !  In  spite  of  all  these 
well-wishers,  the  infatuated  sovereign  was  so  base  as 


48  Godoy  :  the  Queen's  Favourite 

to  consent  to  the  promotion  of  his  entertaining  young 
friend  Manuel.  In  February  1791  his  majesty  made 
a  batch  of  twenty-four  lieutenant-generals  and  nearly 
forty  major-generals,  solely  (so  Zinoviev  assures  us) 
in  order  to  advance  Godoy  to  the  rank  of  brigadier. 
This  method  of  promotion  ought  to  have  made  him 
popular  ;  but  the  Russian  tells  us,  on  the  contrary, 
that  it  annoyed  several  officers — presumably  those  who 
were  not  promoted — and  amused  the  public.  The 
public  is  to  be  congratulated  on  its  sense  of  humour. 

In  the  October  following,  no  doubt  to  its  huge 
diversion,  Maria  Luisa  presented  her  favourite  with 
a  superb  coach-and-six,  all  adorned  with  his  monogram 
surmounted  by  the  crown.  In  this  he  followed  her 
majesty  when  she  drove  through  Madrid. 

One  so  much  beloved  by  the  sovereigns  could 
hardly  fail  to  exercise  some  political  influence,  even 
if,  as  Godoy  assures  us,  his  ambition  did  not  lie  in  that 
direction.  He  aspired,  he  tells  us,  to  military  dis- 
tinction, which  sounds  probable  enough  of  a  dashing 
young  spark  of  twenty-five.  It  would  have  needed, 
too,  a  phenomenal  degree  of  presumption  in  one  so 
young  and  inexperienced  to  have  pretended  to  rivalry 
with  Floridablanca.  That  sage  statesman  was,  more- 
over, careful  to  make  a  friend  of  Manuel,  and  fre- 
quently spoke  of  him  with  esteem  and  affection  to 
the  king.  As  a  mark  of  his  friendship,  or  perhaps  as 
a  bribe,  he  presented  him  with  six  costly  chandeliers 
and  a  crucifix  of  lapis  lazuli  which  he  had  brought 
from  Rome.  "  I  had  intended,"  he  wrote,  "  to 
bequeath  them  to  you  by  will,  but  prefer  that  you 
should  enjoy  them  during  my  life-time." 

Nevertheless,  living  at  the  very  focus  of  government, 


The  First  Rumble  of  the  Storm  49 

Manuel,  as  time  went  on,  was  bound  to  pick  up  some 
knowledge  of  statecraft  and  to  form  his  own  opinions 
on  political  questions.  To  him  the  queen  must  have 
come,  in  course  of  time,  to  confide  her  misgivings  as 
to  the  count's  policy.  Had  Manuel  not  been  captured 
in  his  youth  by  the  court,  there  is  no  doubt  that  he 
would  have  been  among  those  daring  youths  of  Madrid 
who  wore  the  republican  cockade  and  read  Voltaire. 
He  had  been  imbued  by  his  friends,  the  Jouberts, 
with  the  new  philosophy,  and  could  not  altogether 
extinguish  his  sympathy  with  the  revolutionary  move- 
ment in  France.  Of  Floridablanca's  attitude  he 
could  not  have  approved.  Suspecting  his  views,  or 
for  purely  moral  reasons,  the  queen's  chaplain  en- 
deavoured to  undermine  his  influence.  The  favourite 
was  strong  enough  to  resist,  and  got  her  majesty  to 
exchange  her  confessor  for  the  Abbe  Musquitz,  an 
ecclesiastic  of  exceedingly  liberal  views  in  politics  and 
ethics. 

Soon  after,  there  was  a  fresh  outburst  of  hostility 
between  the  queen  and  the  prime  minister.  Maria 
Luisa  determined  to  follow  the  example  of  her  pre- 
decessors and  to  create  a  private  council,  or  camarilla. 
The  selection  of  its  members  she  entrusted  to  Godoy, 
who,  from  prudence  or  modesty,  designated,  not  him- 
self, but  one  Brancial  as  its  president.  Floridablanca 
became  alarmed.  He  professed  to  detect  in  Don 
Manuel  singular  talents  for  diplomacy,  and  recom- 
mended the  king  to  employ  him  at  one  of  the  legations 
abroad  j  but  his  majesty  had  more  use  for  him  at 
home. 

Godoy  indignantly  denies  that  he  had  any  share 
iu  the  count's  dismissal.     It  was  for  him,  he  says, 


50  Godoy :  the  Queen*s  Favourite 

a  matter  of  profound  regret,  and  he  entertained  a 
real  regard  and  respect  for  the  old  statesman.  But 
he  is  not  believed  by  Spanish  historians,  for  no  better 
reason,  that  I  can  discover,  than  that  the  conde  de  la 
Cafiada,  with  whom  his  brother  was  connected  by 
marriage,  made  himself  conspicuous  by  his  bitterness 
when  employed  in  the  subsequent  impeachment  of 
the  count. 

The  successor  in  ofhce  of  the  fallen  Prime  Minister 
was  no  minion  of  the  court,  but  his  life-long  opponent, 
the  count  of  Aranda,  a  man  seventy-four  years  of  age. 
This  veteran  statesman  was  the  recognised  leader  of 
such  liberal  movements  as  existed  in  Spain.  He  had 
been  minister  of  State  and  president  of  the  Council 
of  Castille  under  Charles  III.,  and  had  been  largely 
responsible  for  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits.  "  He 
had  done  his  utmost,"  declares  a  French  historian 
bitterly,  "  to  dechristianise  his  country."  That  he  had 
been  a  statesman  of  capacity  cannot  be  disputed ;  but 
old  age  had  weakened  his  powers  while  accentuating 
his  native  obstinacy  and  aggressiveness. 

Such  was  the  man  in  whom  the  Russian  envoy  pro- 
fessed to  see  merely  the  creature  of  Maria  Luisa  and 
Godoy,  and  others  the  warming-pan  for  the  ambitious 
favourite.  Aranda,  it  may  be  safely  asserted,  was  the 
choice  of  King  Charles.  He  was  the  obvious  and 
inevitable  successor  to  Floridablanca,  His  sympathy 
with  the  dominant  powers  in  France  was  well  known, 
and  the  king  hoped  by  a  new  policy  of  conciliation  to 
avert  the  dangers  which  threatened  his  cousin.  Aranda 
was  certainly  named  minister  ad  interim ;  but,  if 
Charles  had  already  made  up  his  mind  to  give  the 
premiership  to  Godoy,  he  might  have  easily  done  so, 


FLORIDABLANCA. 

(Goya) 


51 


The  First  Rumble  of  the  Storm  53 

without  any  interval.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
account  for  the  appointment  of  Aranda  by  imagining 
cabals  and  intrigues,  which  might  have  been  more 
profitably  directed  to  securing  a  more  pliable  tool. 

The  new  minister  was  very  far  from  that.  Though 
the  news  of  his  appointment  had  been  communicated 
to  Godoy,  and  though  he  had  made  friendly  overtures 
towards  the  favourite,  he  could  not  brook  his  inter- 
ference in  affairs  of  State,  and  objected  to  honours 
being  heaped  upon  him.  Nearly  four  years  of  favour 
and  influence  at  court  had  whetted  Don  Manuel's 
appetite  for  power  and  left  him  greedy  as  a  cormorant 
of  honours.  The  conscience  of  no  one  round  about 
the  throne  was  very  nice  in  those  days,  and  of  responsi- 
bility to  the  public  there  was  little  thought.  Charles 
and  Maria  Luisa  were  infatuated  with  their  favourite, 
and  would  give  him  anything  he  asked  for. 

In  April  his  majesty  announced  his  intention  of 
making  Godoy  a  grant  of  crown  lands  worth  ten 
thousand  pounds  a  year.  This  exercise  of  royal 
generosity  Aranda  did  not  hesitate  to  oppose  with 
the  vehemence  characteristic  of  him.  His  resistance 
was  vain,  and  the  former  guardsman  stepped  at  once 
into  the  enjoyment  of  this  comfortable  income. 

Nor  did  Aranda  succeed  in  pleasing  the  king  in 
matters  of  external  policy.  Upon  taking  office  he 
showed  a  conciliatory  attitude  towards  France  by 
receiving  M.  de  Bourgoing,  the  ambassador  of  the  new 
regime,  whom  Floridablanca  had  refused  to  recognise  ; 
but  the  march  of  events  beyond  the  Pyrenees  soon 
dispelled  all  his  revolutionary  sympathies.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  would  do  nothing  to  assist  the  Bourbons. 
He  withdrew  the  subsidies  hitherto  granted  to  the 

4 


54  Godoy :   the  Qucen*s  Favourite 

French  emigres  at  Madrid,  and  told  them  to  work 
for  their  living.  He  was  at  daggers  drawn  with 
Zinoviev,  and  refused  to  enter  into  any  combination 
with  the  Powers  for  the  relief  of  French  royalty.  He 
could  not  forgive  Russia  for  her  attack  upon  Poland, 
and  when  asked  by  the  Swedish  ambassador  to  furnish 
the  subsidy  promised  to  his  king,  reminded  him 
brusquely  that  Sweden  had  as  yet  put  no  army  in 
the  field.  Floridablanca  had  tried  to  help  Louis  by 
doing  nothing  for  the  revolutionaries ;  Aranda  sought 
to  conciliate  the  revolutionaries  by  doing  nothing 
for  Louis. 

The  massacre  of  the  Swiss  mercenaries  on  August  lo 
filled  the  court  of  Spain  with  fury.  Every  courier 
that  galloped  into  Madrid  brought  news  of  fresh 
massacres,  of  new  and  deadlier  assaults  upon  the 
privileges  of  the  crown,  the  Church,  and  the  nobility. 
To  the  diplomatists  Aranda  continued  to  protest 
that  the  situation  in  France  was  not  yet  critical  and 
that  the  slaughter  at  the  Tuileries  might  even  prove 
favourable  to  Louis  if  it  should  cause  the  duke  of 
Brunswick  to  arrest  his  march  on  Paris. 

Only  a  fortnight  later,  however,  the  aged  minister 
called  a  Council  of  State,  and  submitted  the  alter- 
natives of  war,  peace,  and  armed  neutrality.  The 
council  voted  for  war,  and  Aranda  on  the  very  next 
day  began  his  preparations ;  but  apprehensions  for 
the  fate  of  Louis  paralysed  his  arm.  Hard  on  the 
news  of  the  proclamation  of  the  republic  came  the 
tidings  of  the  defeat  of  the  duke  of  Brunswick  at 
Valmy.  Aranda,  who  had  declared  himself  ready  to 
go  from  town  to  town,  sounding  the  call  to  arms, 
suddenly  returned  to  his  project  of  an  armed  neu- 


The  First  Rumble  of  the  Storm  55 

trality.  The  octogenarian  statesman  had  lost  his 
head. 

This  was  patent  to  the  king  and  queen,  to  the 
diplomatic  body,  to  the  whole  court,  and  not  least 
to  Manuel  Godoy,  The  favourite  cannot  be  accused 
of  any  prejudice  in  the  first  instance  against  Aranda 
or  his  policy.  He  was  suspected,  we  know,  of  having 
favoured  both.  It  is  possible  that  the  minister's 
opposition  to  his  enrichment  may  have  helped  to 
open  his  eyes  to  the  dangers  of  his  policy  ;  but  the 
dangers  were  real,  not  the  less  because  detected  by 
an  unfriendly  critic.  Godoy  protested  hotly  against 
Spain's  timid  and  vacillating  attitude.  Were  they 
to  stand  by  and  see  Louis  XVI.,  the  head  of  King 
Charles's  own  house,  perish  on  the  scaffold  or  in  the 
dungeon  f  They  spoke  of  armed  neutrality ;  well,  if 
such  a  treaty  had  been  come  to  with  France  earlier, 
the  court  of  Madrid  might  have  treated  with  the 
revolutionary  Government  as  friends  and  been  listened 
to  with  consideration.  At  present,  they  neither 
threatened  nor  interceded  on  behalf  of  the  unhappy 
and  deposed  monarch.  These  sentiments  were  so 
much  those  of  the  court  generally  that,  had  Godoy 
enjoyed  far  less  influence,  they  would  still  have  earned 
him  confidence  and  applause. 

That  the  favourite  was  the  only  man  equal  to  the 
situation  is  apparent  from  the  unwilling  and  hostile 
testimony  of  Zinoviev :  "  The  ministers  decide  on 
nothing  without  Godoy  ;  in  concert  with  him  they 
do  many  things,  unknown  to  Aranda,  who  has  made 
up  his  mind  to  object  to  nothing.  All  seem  careless 
of  the  future  ;  nobody  attempts  any  necessary  re- 
forms or  troubles  his  head  as  to  what  may  be  the 


S6  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

results  of  this  indifference.  The  king  is  either  hunting 
or  amusing  himself  with  balloons.  Aranda  is  occupied 
with  experiments  on  the  value  of  cork  jackets  in  diving 
operations.  Meanwhile,  the  ministers  are  closeted 
with  the  queen,  to  ascertain  her  wishes  and  those  of 
Godoy.". 

The  ministers  were  wise  to  bow  before  the  rising 
sun.  The  king's  confidence  in  his  guardsman  had 
increased  hugely  during  the  past  six  months.  He 
had  promoted  him  sergeant-major  of  the  body-guard, 
and  now  made  him  a  grandee  of  the  first  class  with 
the  title  of  duke  of  Alcudia.  As  grounds  for  this 
unprecedented  exaltation,  it  was  given  out  that  the 
Godoys  had  sacrificed  their  fortune  during  the  war 
of  succession  in  the  service  of  the  Bourbons,  and  that, 
moreover,  they  were  descended  from  his  majesty's 
ancestors,  the  Gothic  kings.  While  playing  draughts 
with  his  sovereign,  Manuel  had  contrived  to  impress 
him  with  his  fitness  for  the  larger  game  of  politics. 
Charles  had  had  enough,  at  all  events,  of  his  father's 
ministers,  who  had  shown  themselves  incapable  of 
comprehending  the  new  order  of  things.  The  times 
demanded  new  men,  young  men. 

Aranda  fell  suddenly,  but  very  much  more  softly, 
than  his  predecessor.  On  the  night  of  November  14, 
1792,  he  was  summoned  to  the  Escurial.  With 
studied  kindness  and  delicacy,  the  king  informed  him 
that,  in  consideration  of  his  great  age,  he  had  deter- 
mined to  relieve  him  of  the  burden  of  government. 
In  proof  of  the  royal  gratitude  and  esteem,  he  would 
continue  to  serve  his  majesty  as  president  of  the 
Council  of  State,  and  would  retain  all  his  other  offices 
and  honours. 


The  First  Rumble  of  the  Storni  57 

The  decree  placarded  next  morning  on  the  walls 
of  Madrid  expressed  in  the  like  terms  the  king's 
appreciation  of  his  late  minister's  worth  and  long 
service,  and  concluded  by  announcing  that,  to  succeed 
him  in  the  ofHce  of  first  secretary  of  State,  his  catholic 
majesty  had  been  pleased  to  name  the  duke  of  Alcudia, 
in  whom  he  had  confidence,  preserving  to  him  also 
the  ofhce  of  sergeant-major  of  the  royal  Garde  de 
Corps. 


CHAPTER    IV 


THE    king's   favourite 


In  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  Manuel  Godoy, 
the  son  of  a  poor  country  gentleman,  now  found 
himself  called  by  his  sovereign  to  seize  the  tiller  of  the 
state.  "  See,"  said  his  detractors,  "  what  comes  of 
seducing  a  queen  and  bamboozling  her  husband.  A 
handsome  face  and  a  well-turned  limb  have  won  for 
this  minion  of  the  court  the  control  of  the  destinies 
of  this  kingdom." 

That  was  not  quite  so.  The  grace  of  his  person 
may  explain  Godoy's  introduction  to  court  life,  but 
not  the  life-long  confidence  of  the  king.  The  true 
explanation  of  his  elevation,  he  avers,  was  long  a 
mystery  to  him.  At  last  it  was  revealed  to  him. 
"  Charles  IV.  and  Maria  Luisa  were  continually  and 
profoundly  moved,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  by  the 
troubles  in  France,  and  by  the  appalling  experiences 
and  misfortunes  of  the  good  king  Louis  XVI.  and  his 
unhappy  family.  Closely  following  this  long  series 
of  disasters,  they  attributed  them  in  great  part — 
and  not  altogether  wrongly — to  the  various  ministers 
of  that  prince,  so  badly  served  and  so  torn  between 
the  conflicting  and  interested  influences  of  his  court. 
The  neighbourhood  of  the  two  kingdoms  made  my 
sovereign  fear  that  the  conflagration  might  at  any 
moment  extend  to  his  own  dominions.     Charles  IV. 

S8 


The  King's  Favourite  59 

looked  around  him  ;  confidence  failed  him  in  himself  ; 
he  sought  the  light,  and  he  feared  a  snare  ;  day  hy 
day  the  peril  grew  greater. 

"  It  does  not  become  me  to  excuse  or  to  blame 
this  irresolution.  Their  majesties  conceived  the  idea 
of  procuring  a  man  of  whom  they  might  make  an 
incorruptible  friend,  the  work  only  of  their  hands, 
whose  private  interest  should  bind  him  to  them  and 
to  their  kingdom.  Admitted  to  the  intimacy  of  the 
royal  spouses,  if  they  heard  me  discourse  from  time 
to  time — if  they  concluded  that  I  understood  some- 
thing of  the  politics  of  the  epoch — if  they  formed 
a  favourable  opinion  of  my  honesty — and  if  they 
persuaded  themselves  (to  my  undoing)  that  of  me 
they  could  make  the  one  they  sought —  this  predis- 
position in  my  favour,  whether  ill  or  well  founded, 
was  not  the  result  on  my  part  of  any  deliberate 
ambition.  I  hoped,  like  other  men,  to  rise  in  the  world, 
but  my  dreams  were  of  military  distinction  ;  and  I 
protest  that  I  received  with  alarm  the  favours,  most 
of  them  unclaimed  and  unsought,  of  which  I  was  the 
object  in  so  few  years." 

It  is  certainly  easily  conceivable  that  Charles,  weary 
of  the  domination  of  his  father's  grey-headed  advisers, 
may  have  longed  for  a  minister  in  every  way  his  own 
creation.  All  his  predecessors  had  been  served  by 
their  creatures,  made,  so  to  speak,  according  to  their 
designs.  Charles  was  no  fool  when  he  chose  Godoy. 
The  selection  was  justified  by  the  unswerving  fidelity 
of  a  life-time.  It  seemed  rash,  of  course,  to  appoint 
a  young  man,  destitute  of  ministerial  experience,  to 
the  highest  office  under  the  crown,  but  doubtless 
Charles  intended  that  he  should  be  merely  the  mouth- 


6o  Godoy :  the  Quccn^s  Favourite 

piece  and  executant  of  his  own  will.  Besides,  of 
what  avail  had  been  the  statecraft  and  the  accumu- 
lated experience  of  Floridablanca  and  Aranda  ?  The 
one  had  struggled  in  the  ruts  in  which  the  other  had 
stood  fast.  Both  had  proved  incapable  of  coping 
with  the  existing  crisis.  A  new  and  younger  man 
might  be  expected  to  show  more  resolution,  even  if 
he  possessed  no  more  wisdom. 

Then,  again,  there  was  no  one  else  to  appoint. 
Those  who  blame  Godoy  most  harshly  have  never 
suggested  any  other  successor  to  the  two  fallen  ministers. 
The  minor  secretaries  of  State  were  without  exception 
mere  ciphers — clerks  accustomed  to  obey  orders,  not 
to  give  them.  As  to  the  inexperience  of  his  protege, 
Charles  had  probably  found  out  by  this  time  that 
there  is  no  great  mystery  or  technic  in  the  so-called 
science  of  politics.  Common  sense  and  a  cool, 
courageous  head  will  enable  any  man  to  deal  with 
the  problems  which  diplomatists  pretend  are  almost 
insoluble.  Godoy  was  as  good  a  man  to  take  the 
reins  of  government  as  any  other  just  then  in 
Spain.  And  Charles  never  had  reason  to  regret  his 
choice. 

*'  The  storm  had  burst  and  was  raging  on  all  sides. 
It  was  thus,  as  it  were,  in  the  midst  of  a  convulsion  of 
nature,  on  the  brink  of  a  volcano  whose  dark  smoke 
portended  an  immediate  explosion,  when  terror  was 
at  our  gates  and  agitated  every  mind,  that  I  was 
unexpectedly  called  upon — O  God  ! — to  take  the 
helm  of  state."  So  complained  Godoy  in  years  long 
after.  But  the  hour  itself  found  him  resolute  and 
undismayed.     Its  perils  loomed  larger  in  the  retrospect. 

His  mind  was  made  up.     All  other  considerations 


The  King^s  Favourite  6i 

were  to  be  subordinated  to  the  necessity  of  serving 
Louis  of  France.  Such  were  Charles's  imperative 
orders,  and  such  was  the  new  minister's  own  desire. 
He  adopted  the  only  course  by  which  that  end  could 
have  been  effected.  The  veteran  diplomatists  sneered 
at  his  ignorance  and  giggled  over  his  blunders  in 
matters  of  detail ;  but  his  policy,  perhaps  because 
of  the  frankness  with  which  he  stated  it,  they  could 
not  for  a  long  time  penetrate. 

Pressed  to  act  by  Zinoviev,  he  replied  :  *'  Spain 
will  do  all  she  can  to  help  the  good  cause,  as  she  has 
done  hitherto.  But  she  cannot  act  alone,  for  she 
wants  troops ;  moreover,  she  is  France's  neighbour. 
Russia  is  in  a  different  position  :  she  is  the  most 
powerful  State  in  Europe,  her  resources  are  inex- 
haustible ;  we  are  nothing  in  comparison  with  her." 
Let  Russia,  then,  pull  the  chestnuts  out  of  the  fire. 
The  Prussian  minister  so  little  understood  him  that  he 
told  his  Government  that  the  queen  and  Godoy  desired 
peace  at  any  price,  in  order  to  dispose  of  the  public 
money.  His  excellency  would  have  done  well  as  a 
political  journalist  in  our  own  day. 

"  If  all  the  armies  of  all  the  Powers  in  Europe 
attacked  France  to-day,  they  could  not  rescue  the 
king  from  his  dangerous  position,"  wrote  Godoy  to 
Lord  St.  Helens  in  vindication  of  his  policy.'  Con- 
ciliate the  republicans  and  then  intercede  on  behalf 
of  the  deposed  monarch  :  this  was  the  plan  which 
he  proposed  to  Charles  IV.,  who,  we  are  told,  approved 
it  with  tears.  Aranda  protested.  He  approached 
his  successor,  pointing  out  the  danger  of  irritating  the 
revolutionaries  by  any  remonstrances  or  appeals. 
*  Record  Office,  F.O.  Spain,  vol.  xxvi.,  January  i,  1793. 


62  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

If  the  intercession  of  the  king  of  Spain  were  rejected, 
war,  he  argued,  must  result ;  if  it  were  accepted, 
Spain  would  have  to  act  as  hostage  and  guarantee 
for  Louis  and  his  family.  "  The  king  of  France," 
replied  the  young  minister,  *'  will  no  doubt  faithfully 
comply  with  the  conditions  of  a  treaty  which  shall 
have  saved  him  from  the  scaffold.  I  can  have  no 
better  pledge  of  this  than  his  Christian  virtues.  In 
the  extraordinary  situation  in  which  France  is  placed, 
something  must  be  left  to  chance,  and  we  must  choose, 
between  two  extremes,  that  which  accords  most 
with  our  honour  and  humanity." 

The  old  statesman  retired,  nettled,  it  is  alleged, 
by  the  rejection  of  his  counsels.  Godoy  coldly  re- 
ceived the  French  envoy,  but  agreed  to  the  treaty 
of  neutrality  which  had  been  proposed  to  Aranda. 
In  the  first  of  two  notes,  Spain  bound  herself  to 
maintain  a  complete  neutrality  in  the  war  in  which 
France  was  engaged  with  other  Powers  ;  in  the  second, 
she  agreed  to  withdraw  her  troops  from  the  frontiers, 
provided  France  did  the  same.  Both  notes  were  valid 
only  when  exchanged  against  identical  undertakings 
by  the  Provisional  Government  of  France. 

Not  a  word  was  said  in  either  note  as  to  the  ex- 
king.  There  was  no  hint  of  menace  or  remonstrance 
in  either.  But  the  Chevalier  Ocariz,  who  had  re- 
mained in  Paris  during  the  progress  of  the  revolution 
as  Spain's  unofficial  agent,  at  the  same  time  handed 
to  the  French  foreign  minister,  Lebrun,  a  moderately 
worded  offer  of  mediation  on  the  part  of  Charles  IV. 
between  his  wretched  relative  and  the  Convention. 
Lebrun  communicated  both  the  treaty  and  the  letter 
to  the  president  of  the  Assembly,  observing  that  the 


The  King's  Favourite  6$ 

motive  of  the  one  was  sufficiently  indicated  by  the 
tenor  of  the  other. 

The  two  notes  and  the  letter  were  read  at  the  as- 
sembly of  the  Convention  on  December  20.  Ocariz 
laid  stress  on  the  friendly  disposition  of  his  sovereign 
towards  France,  as  testified  in  the  treaty.  To  con- 
solidate the  friendship  of  the  two  nations,  all  that  was 
needed  was  a  display  on  the  part  of  France  of  gener- 
osity towards  their  royal  captive.  The  king  of  Spain 
was  not  to  be  suspected  of  any  wish  to  interfere  in  the 
affairs  of  an  independent  State  ;  his  voice  was  the 
voice  of  nature  and  compassion  raised  on  behalf  of 
a  kinsman  and  an  old  ally.  Louis  and  his  family 
handed  over  to  the  safe-keeping  and  custody  of  Spain, 
would  be  a  living  testimony  at  once  to  the  magnani- 
mity and  strength  of  the  French  people. 

This  appeal  was  listened  to  in  deep  silence.  A 
moment  later  the  ferocious  Thuriot  sprang  to  his  feet. 
"  Away  with  the  influence  of  kings  !  "  he  cried.  "  Let 
us  not  allow  the  ministers  of  foreign  courts  to  come 
among  us,  to  intimate  to  us  the  orders  of  crowned 
ruffians.     Would  the  Spanish  despot  threaten  us  ?  " 

"  There  is  not  a  word  of  threat,"  interjected  a 
solitary  voice.  "  No,"  cried  Thuriot,  "  not  a  word 
of  threat  for  those  who  will  not  see  or  understand 
the  machinations  of  crime  and  perversity  !  Let  us 
baffle  royal  intrigues  .  .  .  !  "  The  voice  of  humanity 
was  silent.  The  offer  of  mediation  was  contemptu- 
ously rejected. 

The  Spanish  envoy  blenched  at  this  insult  to  his 
sovereign  and  his  nation  ;  but,  previously  instructed 
by  Godoy,  he  courageously  persisted  in  his  efforts. 
His  credit  was  unlimited.     He  had  all  the  wealth  of 


64  Godoy :  the  Queen^s  Favourite 

Spain  and  the  Indies  to  draw  upon.  He  bribed,  he 
entreated,  he  flattered  members  of  the  Convention. 
When  the  voting  on  the  fate  of  the  king  began  on 
the  evening  of  January  17  he  made  a  last  appeal. 
He  offered  to  transmit  to  Madrid  any  honourable 
condition  the  Convention  might  impose,  provided 
they  w^ould  grant  a  reprieve.  These  unworthy  re- 
publicans merely  howled  for  blood.  Danton  de- 
manded that  war  should  at  once  be  declared  against 
Spain.  All  discussion  of  the  proposal  was  stifled  by 
the  order  of  the  day,  and  amid  yells  and  applause 
from  the  galleries. 

On  January  31  Godoy  learnt  that  all  his  efforts 
had  been  vain.  The  head  of  Louis  XVI.  had  fallen. 
The  whole  Spanish  nation  thrilled  with  horror. 
The  king  and  queen  were  plunged  into  the  deepest 
sorrow.  The  court  was  ordered  into  mourning  for 
three  months.  The  solemn  mass  celebrated  for  the 
repose  of  the  soul  of  the  dead  monarch  was  attended 
by  an  enormous  concourse  of  Spaniards  of  all  ranks. 
The  execution  of  an  anointed  king  seemed  to  this 
catholic  people  an  act  of  blasphemy. 

War  was  now  inevitable,  but  Godoy  wisely  curbed 
his  own  and  the  nation's  impatience.  He  had  hurried 
on  his  preparations,  but  things  in  Spain  move  slowly ; 
moreover,  he  was  not  without  apprehensions  for  the 
family  of  the  dead  king,  still  in  the  hands  of  his  slayers. 
He  contented  himself,  for  the  moment,  with  refusing 
to  see  the  French  envoy,  who  found  it  prudent  to 
confine  himself  to  his  residence. 

A  few  days  before  the  fatal  tidings  the  French  rati- 
fication of  the  treaty  of  neutrality  had  been  received 
with    reservations    to    which    Spain    had    demurred. 


The  King's  Favourite  65 

Bourgoing  begged  for  a  private  and  unofficial  inter- 
view. This  v;^as  granted  by  Godoy,  who  stated  that 
Spain  would  resume  negotiations  with  France  on 
two  conditions  only :  that  his  catholic  majesty 
should  be  allowed  to  treat  for  the  release  of  the 
prisoners  in  the  Temple,  and  that  France  should  revoke 
all  the  decrees  proclaiming  or  implying  war  against 
the  monarchical  principle.  The  Frenchman  replied 
that  he  was  instructed  to  demand  the  instant  and 
unconditional  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  neutrality. 
If  Spain  did  not  at  once  disarm,  she  must  face  the 
bayonets  of  France.  The  Prime  Minister  shrugged 
his  shoulders.  Bourgoing  demanded  his  passports, 
which  he  received  on  February  19,  addressed  to 
"  The  late  ambassador  of  the  Most  Christian  King." 
Four  days  later  he  was  on  his  way  to  France,  narrowly 
escaping  an  attack  by  the  mob  at  Valencia. 

"  I  was  weak  enough  to  wish  to  remain  at  peace 
with  France,"  said  Charles  IV.  bitterly,  "  but  I 
see  now  that  it  is  impossible  to  treat  with  such  a 
Government  as  theirs."  Aranda  did  not  think  so. 
At  the  eleventh  hour  he  begged  his  king  to  hold  his 
hand.  In  a  memorandum  which  he  presented  on 
February  27,  the  old  man  adjured  his  sovereign  not 
to  allow  himself  to  be  led  to  forget  the  real  interests 
of  his  people  by  indignation  at  the  murder  of  his 
kinsman.  Spain,  he  persisted,  should  still  play  a 
waiting  game.  The  united  Powers  were  about  to 
attack  France.  If  they  were  successful,  by  joining 
them  at  the  moment  of  victory,  Spain's  task  would  be 
the  easier  ;  if  France,  on  the  other  hand,  emerged 
victorious  from  the  struggle,  she  would  be  glad  enough 
to  spare  herself  more  danger  and  fatigue  by  negotiating 


66  Godoy :  the  Queen's  Favourite 

with  a  neutral  nation  fully  armed  and  prepared. 
Moreover,  to  weaken  France  meant  to  strengthen 
England,  Spain's  natural  enemy.  As  to  crushing 
the  revolutionary  Government,  the  best  policy  for 
nations,  as  for  individuals,  was  for  each  to  mind  his 
own  business. 

These  arguments,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
did  not  weigh  with  a  king  whose  offer  of  mediation 
had  been  flung  back  in  his  face  and  whose  cousin's 
blood  had  hardly  dried  on  the  scaffold  of  Paris.  As 
to  the  propriety  of  Spain's  minding  her  own  business, 
Godoy  could  point  derisively  to  the  proclamation  of 
the  Convention  promising  fraternity  and  help  to  all 
nations  desirous  of  recovering  their  liberty,  or,  in  other 
words,  of  shaking  off  the  yoke  of  kings.  By  standing 
neuter  when  all  Europe  was  marching  to  avenge 
the  death  of  his  kinsman,  Charles  of  Bourbon  would 
have  covered  himself  with  Infamy.  Considering  the 
aggressive  action  of  the  Convention  towards  other 
States,  I  doubt,  too,  if  a  declaration  of  neutrality  would 
have  saved  Spain  from  invasion.  It  would  certainly 
not  have  hindered  the  revolutionary  communities 
already  established  at  Bayonne  and  Perpignan  from 
actively  fomenting  insurrectionary  movements  in  the 
northern  provinces  of  the  kingdom. 

With  one  voice  the  Spaniards  clamoured  for  war. 
The  French  declaration  of  war  w^as  received  on 
March  7 ;  it  was  replied  to  by  the  Spanish  Govern- 
ment a  fortnight  later.  Enthusiasm  possessed  every 
class  of  the  people.  Upwards  of  seventy-three  millions 
of  francs  were  rapidly  subscribed  towards  the  expense 
of  the  campaign,  as  compared  with  five  millions 
raised  by  the  Convention  on  the  other  side  of  the 


The  King's  Favourite  6"] 

Pyrenees.  The  blind  street-singers  of  Madrid  proudly 
contributed  their  mite — sometimes,  out  of  their  secret 
hoard,  they  were  able  to  offer  a  gift  which  the  wealthy 
might  not  have  disdained.  Peasants  forsook  the 
plough  to  join  in  the  crusade  ;  widows  offered  their 
only  sons.  The  smugglers  of  the  Sierra  Morena 
offered  their  services  to  the  Government  they  had 
hitherto  set  at  defiance.  Manufacturers,  who  had 
no  money  to  spare,  sent  supplies.  The  Carthusians  of 
Paular  sent  a  million  ounces  of  silver  to  the  Treasury 
and  bound  themselves  to  supply  forage  for  the  cavalry. 
The  chapter  of  Toledo  melted  down  their  plate  and 
poured  their  wealth  into  the  war-chest.  Munici- 
palities levied  special  rates  to  equip  local  bodies  of 
volunteers.  The  duke  del  Infantado  and  many  other 
nobles  raised  corps  at  their  own  expense.  Godoy 
equipped  and  maintained  a  regiment  from  his  native 
province. 

The  French  declaration  of  war,  wrote  Lord  St. 
Helens  to  Lord  Grenvillc  on  March  22,  produced 
no  surprise  or  alarm  in  Spain  "  since,  owing  to  the 
prudent  and  vigorous  measures  of  precaution  which 
had  been  taken  by  the  Government,  particularly  since 
the  last  change  in  the  administration,  they  are  not 
only  fully  prepared  to  resist  any  attack  but  to  act 
upon  the  offensive."  *  In  reality  Spain  was  prepared 
only  because  her  adversary  was  unprepared.  The 
utmost  efforts  of  Godoy  and  of  his  predecessor  had 
produced  a  force  by  no  means  worthy  of  the  nation 
or  sufficient  for  the  enterprise  in  hand. 

"  Our  land  and  sea  forces,  at  the  approach  of  an 
unavoidable  war,  scarcely  amounted,  on  the  whole, 
*  Record  Office,  F.O.  Spain,  Tol.  ixvi. 


68  Godoy:   the  Queen^s  Favourite 

to  more  than  thirty-six  thousand  men.  The  cavalry- 
were  dismounted,  the  arsenals  empty,  our  manufactures 
of  arms  falling  to  decay,  and  our  effective  forces  every- 
where inadequate,  with  the  exception  of  the  royal 
navy,  to  the  upkeep  of  which  our  fear  of  England  had 
compelled  us  to  devote  all  our  resources."  This  is 
Godoy's  own  picture  of  the  situation  of  his  country 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  Though  drawn  to  excuse 
his  failures  and  to  magnify  his  achievements,  it  seems 
substantially  correct.  A  modern  Spanish  historian 
estimates  the  strength  of  the  army  in  1792  at  forty- 
four  regiments  of  foot,  twelve  of  cavalry,  and  six 
battalions  of  artillery ;  but  the  French  Intelligence 
Department  assessed  the  total  effective  force  at  40,000 
men,  and  Lord  St.  Helens  considered  42,000 — the 
figure  given  by  the  Spanish  War  Office — a  decided 
over-estimate. 

Godoy  proposed  to  profit  by  Spain's  naval  strength 
by  transporting  a  large  expeditionary  force  to  the 
coast  of  Normandy  and  thence  striking  at  Paris.  The 
plan  seems  to  me  a  good  one.  The  distance  from 
Spain  would  have  been  no  drawback,  as  the  army 
could  have  drawn  all  its  supplies  from  England,  which 
was  now  in  alliance  with  King  Charles.  Such  af 
descent,  too,  would  have  materially  assisted  the  allies 
attacking  from  the  side  of  Flanders. 

Instead,  it  was  resolved  to  defend  the  line  of 
the  Pyrenees  and  to  invade  France  at  its  eastern 
extremity,  in  the  hope  of  rallying  the  royalists  of 
Languedoc  and  Provence.  By  incorporating  bodies 
of  the  local  militia  with  the  regulars,  the  Government 
was  able  to  place  an  army  of  34,000  men,  supported 
by  30,000  volunteers,  in   northern  Catalonia,  under 


"i. 


GODOY. 


69 


The  King's  Favourite  71 

the  command  of  General  Ricardos.  The  prince  of 
Castel  Franco  and  General  Caro,  with  forces  num- 
bering respectively  32,000  and  38,000  regulars  and 
irregulars,  defended  the  passes  of  Aragon,  Navarre, 
and  Biscay. 

The  first  shots  were  exchanged  on  April  17,  when 
Ricardos  crossed  the  frontier  into  Roussillon  and 
drove  the  French  before  him.  They  rallied  and  were 
soundly  beaten  at  Masdeu.  The  Spaniards  besieged 
and  took  Bellegarde.  The  veteran  Dagobert  was 
defeated  by  the  invaders  at  Trouillas,  but  he  was 
reinforced  and  turned  the  tables  on  his  opponents 
by  penetrating  into  northern  Catalonia.  Heedless  of 
this  manoeuvre,  Ricardos  continued  his  advance  north- 
wards. On  November  7  he  defeated  the  French  left 
wing  at  Ville  Longue  and  drove  them  beneath  the 
guns  of  Perpignan.  He  then  took  up  winter  quarters  in 
the  valley  of  the  Tech — this  being  the  only  frontier, 
as  Thiers  remarks,  on  which  the  campaign  had  not 
terminated  gloriously  for  the  arms  of  the  republic. 

The  Spanish  fleet  had  been  sent  to  co-operate  with 
the  English  before  Toulon  ;  but,  on  the  fall  of  that 
royalist  stronghold,  the  allies  had  separated  with 
mutual  recriminations  and  suspicions.  Nevertheless, 
the  first  year  of  Godoy's  administration  had  not 
proved  on  the  whole  dishonourable  or  disadvantageous 
to  Spain.  She  alone  had  dared  to  intercede  on  behalf 
of  the  captive  king ;  her  flag  alone  waved  over  a  por- 
tion of  French  soil.  As  Godoy  has  been  reproached 
with  every  disaster,  from  an  earthquake  to  the  failure 
of  a  penny  bank,  which  has  overtaken  his  country, 
it  is  but  fair  that  he  should  be  credited  with  a 
share  in  its  good  fortune.      The    troops   must   have 

5 


72  Godoy:  the  Quecn^s  Favourite 

been  pretty  well  equipped  to  repulse  the  elsewhere- 
invincible  warriors  of  the  republic,  and  their  generals 
must  have  been  well  chosen  by  the  Government  at 
Madrid. 

But  even  the  happy  conduct  of  the  war  could  not 
persuade  the  count  of  Aranda  of  its  wisdom.  On 
March  7,  1794,  he  addressed  to  the  king  another 
memorandum,  setting  forth  much  the  same  objections 
as  before  to  the  continuance  of  hostilities,  and  pro- 
phesying that,  if  his  counsels  were  disregarded,  the 
French  would  ere  long  water  their  horses  at  the 
fountains  of  the  Prado.  The  Council  of  State  met  on 
the  14th  of  the  month.  According  to  one  authority, 
Godoy  refused  to  read  the  memorandum,  but  briefly 
acquainted  the  king  with  its  contents  and  angrily 
demanded  the  punishment  of  its  author.  Manuel 
himself  says  that  the  memorandum  was  read,  and  that 
he  replied  to  it  in  an  impassioned  speech  which 
occupies  seventeen  pages  of  print.  The  count's  argu- 
ments might  have  been  refuted  in  fewer  sentences. 

Taunted  by  the  veteran  with  his  youth,  the  young 
minister  is  reported  to  have  answered  :  "  It  is  true 
I  am  only  twenty-six  years  old,  but  I  work  fourteen 
hours  a  day  and  sleep  only  four,  and  am  at  all  hours 
at  the  service  of  the  State."  He  says  nothing  of  this 
himself,  but  relates  that,  the  king  having  called  on 
Aranda  to  reply  to  his  rejoinder,  the  old  man  refused 
with  ironical  deference.  It  was  plain,  he  said,  that 
the  Prime  Minister's  arguments  were  agreeable  to  his 
majesty,  and,  this  being  so,  who  would  venture  to 
offer  advice  of  a  contrary  tendency  ? 

The  king  rose  abruptly.  "  Enough  for  the  day," 
he  said,  and  walked  towards  the  door.     As  he  passed. 


The  King's  Favourite  73 

Aranda  muttered  some  words  presumably  of  apology. 
All  the  councillors  heard  the  king  reply  :  "  In  your 
intercourse  with  my  father  you  were  always  head- 
strong and  wanting  in  respect ;  but  you  never  went 
so  far  as  to  insult  him  in  full  council." 

Two  hours  later  the  old  statesman  was  arrested 
by  the  governor  of  the  palace,  escorted  to  a  travelling 
carriage  which  was  in  readiness,  and  hurried  off  to 
Jaen,  in  Andalusia,  which  the  king  had  appointed  to 
be  his  place  of  banishment.  His  fall,  like  his  pre- 
decessor's, is  of  course  ascribed  to  Godoy.  If  this 
is  true,  then  at  least  the  favourite  proved  himself  a 
generous  enemy.  The  Church  had  never  forgiven 
Aranda  for  his  bitter  attacks  ;  now  in  the  hour  of  his 
disgrace,  the  Inquisition  demanded  that  he  should  be 
handed  over  to  its  tender  mercies  on  the  charge  of 
heresy. 

Here,  if  Godoy  had  wished  it,  was  a  sure  means  of 
ridding  himself  of  his  powerful  antagonist ;  instead, 
he  interfered  to  prevent  any  allusion  being  made  to 
the  count's  opinions,  political  or  religious,  in  the 
prosecution  presently  instituted  against  him.  Aranda 
was  found  guilty  solely  of  want  of  respect  to  the  king, 
for  which  offence  he  was  held  as  a  prisoner  at  large  in 
the  delightful  palace  of  the  Alhambra  for  the  rest  of  the 
year.  He  was  then  permitted  to  return  to  his  native 
province  of  Aragon,  thanks  to  the  man  whom  he  never 
ceased  to  pursue  with  rancorous  hatred  till  the  day 
of  his  death. 

Spain  could  spare  him  better  than  her  best  general, 
Ricardos,  who  died  before  the  renewal  of  the  cam- 
paign in  Roussillon.  By  some  oversight  on  the  part 
of  historians,   his  death  has  not  been  attributed  to 


74  Godoy:  the  Quecn^s  Favourite 

Godoy.  It  has  not  even  been  suggested  that  this 
favourite  endeavoured  to  prevent  the  appointment 
of  his  highly  capable  successor,  the  count  de  la  Union. 
But  the  French  were  emulous  of  the  glory  achieved 
by  their  comrades  on  every  other  frontier,  and  were 
now  commanded  by  the  able  Dugommier,  fresh  from 
the  taking  of  Toulon.  The  luck  turned.  The 
Spaniards  were  driven  back  into  Catalonia.  The 
rival  commanders  fell  in  a  desperate  engagement  at 
the  head  of  their  troops.  Rosas  and  Bellegarde  were 
closely  invested  by  the  republicans  ;  the  strong 
fortress  of  Figueras  fell  into  their  hands.  At  the 
other  end  of  the  Pyrenees  they  assumed  the  offensive^ 
They  took  Fuenterrabia  and  San  Sebastian  and 
threatened  Pampeluna;  but  the  Spaniards  resisted 
so  stubbornly  at  all  points  that  the  invaders  dared 
not  encamp  for  the  winter  beyond  the  southward 
shadow  of  the  Pyrenees. 

But  by  this  time  Spain  had  lost  all  zest  for  the  fight. 
In  two  years  the  indignation  of  her  people  at  the 
murder  of  a  foreign  sovereign  had  had  time  to  cool. 
The  amazing  prowess  of  the  French,  their  irresistible 
onrush  across  the  Alps,  the  Rhine,  and  the  Scheldt 
filled  the  more  wary  Spaniards  with  dread.  They 
asked  themselves  if  Aranda's  prophecy  might  not 
come  true  after  all.  There  were  those  in  Spain  who 
wished  that  it  would.  The  diligent  propaganda 
carried  on  by  the  republican  troops  and  spies  had  not 
been  without  effect. 

Godoy  observed  that  a  faction  in  Madrid  studiously 
imitated  new  French  modes,  and  found  that  these 
were  adopted  as  the  symbols  of  new  French  ideas. 
The    revolutionary    contagion    had    spread    even    to 


The  Kingfs  Favourite  75 

religious  houses.  Addresses  were  prepared  to  wel- 
come the  liberators  when  they  crossed  the  Ebro. 
A  man  named  Picornel  was  detected  in  a  republican 
conspiracy  and  condemned  to  death.  Godoy  disliked 
bloodshed,  so  the  sentence  was  commuted  to  banish- 
ment to  the  Indies.  In  their  jealousy  of  the  favourite, 
certain  of  the  grandees  were  willing  to  call  in  the 
slayers  of  Louis  XVI. 

Godoy  at  length  perceived  that  nothing  was  to 
be  gained  by  continuing  the  war.  Spain  had  pre- 
served her  honour,  and  Louis  could  not  be  brought 
to  life  again.  When  Aranda  had  counselled  peace 
Spain  was  one  of  a  formidable  coalition  which  pro- 
mised to  crush  the  wild-eyed  Maenad  of  the  nations 
within  its  coils.  Now  her  allies  were  powerless  to 
help  her,  and  she  might  soon  be  left  to  face  the 
onslaught  of  the  legions  fresh  from  their  triumphs 
in  Italy  and  Germany.  There  was  no  cohesion  among 
the  enemies  of  France.  The  emperor  would  only 
promise  not  to  make  peace  with  the  republic  without 
giving  due  notice  to  Spain  ;  Prussia  confessed  that 
her  resources  were  exhausted,  and  that  she  could  not 
continue  the  war  without  the  financial  help  of  other 
Powers. 

In  August  1794  the  ministers  of  Sweden  and 
Denmark  hinted  to  King  Charles  that  they  might 
be  able  to  negotiate  a  peace  with  France,  and  subse- 
quently a  triple  alliance  with  her  and  the  United 
States.'  But  his  catholic  majesty  alone  among  the 
sovereigns  of  Europe  was  fighting  for  the  orphan  in 
the  Temple.     He  had  the  audacity  to  propose  that 

'  Mr.  Jackson  to  Lord  Grenville,  Record  Office,  F.O,  Spain,  vol. 
zxxiii. 


76  Godoy :   the  Queen's  Favourite 

he  should  be  placed  on  his  father's  throne,  while 
the  French  republicans  should  be  allowed  to  form  a 
little  state  of  their  own  in  America.  But  when  the 
Pyrenees  were  no  longer  between  him  and  the  armies 
of  France,  his  majesty's  conditions  became  more 
moderate  ;  he  proposed  to  leave  France  to  her  actual 
rulers  and  to  found  a  little  kingdom  for  Louis  XVII. 
in  French  Navarre. 

Upon  the  renewal  of  hostilities  in  the  spring  of 
1 795 J  ^t  an  unofficial  conference  between  the  agents 
of  the  two  countries,  the  conditions  were  further 
reduced,  on  the  part  of  Spain,  to  the  re-estab- 
lishment of  the  catholic  religion  in  France,  the 
granting  pensions  to  the  family  of  the  dead  king,  and 
an  annuity  for  the  emigres.  These  terms  were,  of 
course,  unacceptable  by  France,  but  she  was  none  the 
less  anxious  for  peace  with  her  southern  neighbour. 
The  fury  of  the  revolution  was  spent.  The  dauphin 
and  his  sister  were  treated  more  kindly  by  their 
gaolers. 

Spain  had  an  ambassador  in  the  heart  of  the  French 
Government  in  the  person  of  Madame  Tallien,  the 
daughter  of  one  of  Godoy's  secretaries  of  state, 
Cabarrus.  Her  husband  was  one  of  the  most  in- 
fluential members  of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety. 
He  intimated  to  Godoy  that,  if  he  earnestly  desired 
peace,  the  violence  of  certain  individuals  would  not 
be  allowed  to  hinder  it.  Thus  while  Frenchmen  and 
Spaniards  were  still  shooting  each  other  in  Catalonia 
and  Biscay,  negotiations  were  opened  at  Bale  between 
Yriarte,  the  Spanish  envoy  to  Poland,  and  Barthelemy, 
the  French  ambassador  to  Switzerland. 

The  death  of  the  dauphin  removed  Charles  IV.'s 


The  King*s  Favourite  1^ 

last  scruples  to  the  conclusion  of  a  peace.  On 
July  22  the  treaty  of  Bale  was  signed.  The  republic 
restored  to  Spain  all  the  conquests  made  on  her 
territory  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  engaging 
to  deliver  up  all  the  fortresses  already  taken  in  the 
state  in  which  they  were  at  the  date  of  the  treaty. 
In  her  dealings  with  other  Powers  France  had  taken 
care  to  dismantle  all  such  strongholds  before  returning 
them  to  their  owners.  By  secret  articles,  it  was 
agreed  to  hand  over  the  dauphin's  sister  to  King 
Charles  and  to  accept  his  mediation  between  France 
and  the  Pope. 

Spain  had  opposed  France  since  1789  ;  she  had 
been  fairly  beaten  ;  but,  thanks  to  her  resolute  bearing, 
she  paid  not  a  dollar  by  way  of  indemnity  and  lost 
nothing  to  France  but  the  eastern  half  of  the  island 
of  Santo  Domingo,  which  had  never  been  worth 
the  cost  and  trouble  of  governing.  The  concession 
was  the  less  liberal  on  the  part  of  Spain  in  that  the 
island  had  for  a  long  time  past  belonged  to  no  one 
in  particular. 


CHAPTER  V 

HALCYON    DAYS   FOR    SPAIN 

Great  was  the  joy  in  Spain  and  France  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  treaty  of  Bale.  The  news  was  received 
with  acclamations  by  the  French  troops  on  the 
slopes  of  the  Pyrenees,  who,  ragged,  ill-fed,  and 
weary,  were  in  no  mood  to  test  a  Spanish  welcome 
further.  By  the  Spaniards  the  peace  was  looked 
upon  as  a  victory.  Honour  was  saved  and  practically 
all  besides. 

It  was  Godoy's  great  hour.  Having  launched  his 
country  on  a  perilous  course,  he  had  guided  it  be- 
tween the  rocks  to  a  pleasant  anchorage.  Proud  of 
having  discerned  so  promising  a  statesman,  well 
satisfied  with  his  performances,  glad  paternally  of 
his  success,  Charles  loaded  Manuel  with  honours. 
He  raised  him  to  a  rank  held  only  once  before  in 
Spain  by  one  not  of  the  blood-royal  (Don  Luis  de 
Haro,  favourite  of  Philip  IV.),  and  commemorated 
his  diplomatic  victory  by  conferring  on  him  the  title 
of  Prince  of  the  Peace.  With  this  went  the  style 
of  "  highness,"  and  the  not  very  valuable  privilege  of 
having  the  image  of  Janus  borne  before  him  on 
solemn  occasions' — an  emblem  of  foresight  gained  by 
reflection  on  the  past.  What  other  favours  the  king 
of  Spain  could  give,  he  gave  with  open  hands. 

Here  is  the  list  of  Godoy's  dignities  and  titles  : 

78 


Halcyon  Days  for  Spain  79 

Prince  of  the  Peace,  duke  of  la  Alcudia  and  Sueca, 
prince  Godoy,  prince  of  Bassano,  baron  of  Mascalbo, 
lord  of  Soto  de  Roma  and  Albufera,  knight  of  the 
Golden  Fleece,  comendador  of  Santiago,  grand-cross 
of  the  order  of  Charles  III.  and  St.  Ermengild, 
provost  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  captain-general,  and 
generalissimo  of  Spain.  To  these  in  after-years  were 
added  the  title  of  count  of  Evoramonte  and  knight 
of  the  order  of  Christ  hy  the  king  of  Portugal,  the 
grand-cross  of  the  order  of  St.  Ferdinand  and  St. 
Januarius  by  the  king  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  and  the 
grand-cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honour  by  Napoleon. 

At  twenty-eight  a  man  seldom  regards  his  own 
aggrandisement  with  philosophical  indifference  or 
Christian  humility.  Godoy  was  exceedingly  well 
pleased  with  himself,  and  no  doubt  regarded  these 
honours  as  justly  due  to  him.  Every  prophet  wants 
to  be  honoured  in  his  own  country,  so  the  Prince  of 
the  Peace  took  care  to  parade  his  glory  in  Estrema- 
dura.  While  the  negotiations  were  going  on  at  Bale, 
Charles  and  Maria  Luisa  thought  lit  to  revive  the 
loyalty  of  their  subjects  by  exhibiting  their  gracious 
persons.  To  Seville  accordingly  they  went,  osten- 
sibly to  return  thanks  at  the  tomb  of  St.  Ferdinand 
for  the  unlucky  recovery  from  illness  of  their  first- 
born son. 

Seizing  this  opportunity,  Godoy  persuaded  their 
majesties  to  return  in  a  very  roundabout  fashion  via 
Badajoz,  where  they  were  entertained  by  his  father 
in  the  house  in  which  he  was  born.  It  must  have 
undergone  an  elaborate  process  of  furbishing-up,  I 
imagine ;  but  this  Godoy  senior  could  now  well 
afford,  for  his  son  had  appointed  him,  by  what  was 


8o  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

perhaps  an  excess  of  filial  piety,  president  of  the 
Board  of  Finance.  Possibly  the  Prince  of  the  Peace 
might  have  defended  the  appointment  on  the  ground 
that  a  nobleman  who  had  kept  up  a  certain  amount  of 
state  all  his  life  on  nothing  in  particular  a  year,  would 
know  better  than  any  one  how  to  make  money  go  a 
long  way. 

His  brother  Luis  was  gazetted  major-general,  a 
step  which  he  had  merited  by  his  valour  in  the  recent 
campaign.  Then  or  afterwards  he  was  appointed 
captain-general  of  Estremadura.  He  married  Dona 
Juana  de  Armendariz,  "  of  the  marquises  of  Castel- 
fuente."  Diego,  Manuel's  younger  brother,  became 
In  course  of  time  duke  of  Almodovar  del  Campo. 
By  his  wife,  a  relative  of  the  count  de  la  Canada,  he 
left  no  children.  The  sisters,  Antonia  and  Ramona, 
married  respectively  the  marquis  of  Branciforte  and 
the  count  of  Fuente  Blanca. 

After  the  king,  Godoy  was  the  most  powerful  man 
in  Spain.  His  fortune  amounted  to  forty  millions 
of  francs ;  he  held  open  court  In  the  grandiose  palace 
which  is  now  the  Ministry  of  Marine.  The  nobility 
sneered  at  the  upstart,  and  denied  him  the  familiar 
style  of  "  thou "  which  was  generally  employed 
between  them  in  token  of  fellowship.  The  common 
people  told  each  other  coarse  jokes  about  the  choricerOy 
or  sausage-maker,  as  they  called  him,  in  allusion  to  his 
native  province  ;  but  everybody  was  well  pleased 
with  the  results  of  his  diplomacy,  and  thousands 
hastened  to  pay  him  court  and  to  throng  his  saloons.- 
A  Spanish  writer  *  has  transmitted  to  us  his  recol- 
lections of  the  Prince  of  the  Peace  in  all  the  pomp 
»  "  Recuerdos  de  un  Anciano."    Don  A.  Alcala  Galiano, 


Halcyon  Days  for  Spain  8i 

and  circumstance  of  his  power.  "  His  mansion  was 
guarded  by  a  special  corps,  considered  a  part  of  the 
Royal  Carbineers,  but  differing  from  them  in  uniform, 
which  resembled  rather  that  of  the  hussars  of  those 
days.  The  guard  was  composed  of  picked  men  and 
of  particularly  smart-looking  officers.  A  staircase, 
constructed  at  enormous  cost,  but  ostentatious  rather 
than  tasteful,  led  to  a  succession  of  reception-rooms. 
The  crowd  filled  the  principal  room,  which  was 
long  and  narrow,  and  overflowed  into  two  or  three 
smaller  apartments.  This  crowd  was  made  up  of 
persons  of  all  classes  and  categories,  most  of  them 
there  in  search  of  preferment,  others  out  of  curiosity, 
some  again  there  lest  their  absence  should  be  re- 
marked. The  sexes  were  represented  in  about  equal 
proportions.  As  the  entry  was  free  to  all,  a  few 
women  of  doubtful  reputation  could  be  seen  there, 
even  perhaps  a  courtesan  or  two  of  the  richer  sort. 
And  with  them,  sad  to  say,  were  ladies,  respectable 
by  their  birth  and  position,  who  used  their  charms 
to  secure  the  good-will  of  the  all-powerful  minister, 
and  bartered  their  virtue  for  his  favours.  Mothers 
there  were,  though  seldom,  ready  to  sell  their  daughters 
and  husbands  their  wives.  In  its  blind  hatred  the 
mob  has  exaggerated  the  number  of  these  enormities, 
but  exaggerated  them  only.  For  the  favourite  him- 
self in  after-years,  pleaded  guilty  to  transgressions 
in  the  matter  of  love,  if  such  transactions  can  be 
dignified  by  that  name. 

"  The  routine  followed  at  this  court  was  that 
used  by  the  sovereign,  and  on  occasions  by  the  captains- 
general  of  our  provinces.  The  Prince  of  the  Peace 
issued  from  the  inner  apartments ;    the  murmur  at 


82  Godoy:  the  Queen^s  Favourite 

once  ceased,  and  those  present  placed  themselves  in 
a  double  line,  every  one  anxious  to  be  seen  or  at 
least  heard  by  the  object  of  their  somewhat  inter- 
ested devotion. 

"  It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  give  a  rough  sketch 
of  this  famous  personage.  Don  Manuel  Godoy,  the 
commencement  of  whose  elevation  was  due  altogether 
to  his  personal  advantages,  was  tall,  full-bodied 
though  not  fat,  heavy  about  the  shoulders  so  as  to 
carry  the  head  rather  low,  and  very  fresh-coloured — 
a  circumstance  sufficiently  curious  in  a  native  of  Estre- 
madura,  where  complexions  generally  reflect  the 
parched  face  of  the  landscape.  The  whiteness  of  his 
skin  was  relieved  by  the  redness  of  his  cheeks,  which 
his  enemies  were  fond  of  attributing  to  art ;  but 
there  can  be  no  doubt  at  all  that  it  was  the  work  of 
nature.  He  wore  the  uniform  of  a  captain-general, 
but  with  a  blue  sash,  to  distinguish  him  as  generalis- 
simo. He  carried  in  his  hand  his  baton  and  his 
plumed  cocked  hat.  His  countenance  was  mild  but 
not  expressive  ;  his  speech  sufficiently  to  the  point, 
if  not  specially  brilliant,  though  at  times  he  made 
jokes,  which  never  failed  to  provoke  smiles  more  or 
less  forced.  He  had  a  notable  memory  for  faces  and 
for  the  respective  business  of  each  of  his  visitors,  in 
the  midst  of  such  a  confusion  of  persons  and  affairs — 
a  faculty  common  in  princes,  thanks  to  its  being  so 
much  exercised  by  them.  The  reception  over,  the 
crowd  streamed  out — most  of  them  to  abuse  the 
man  before  whom  a  minute  earlier  they  had  bowed  as 
respectful  suppliants." 

The  prince's  accessibility  and  affability  are  favour- 
ably  commented    upon   by    Blanco   White ;     "  Very 


Halcyon  Days  for  Spain  83 

different  from  the  ministers  who  tremble  before 
him,  he  can  be  approached  by  any  individual  in  the 
kingdom  without  an  introduction,  and  in  the  certainty 
of  receiving  a  civil  if  not  a  favourable  answer."  His 
recommendation  "  is  not  always  made  the  reward  of 
flattery  or  of  more  degrading  servility."  It  was 
admitted  by  a  French  minister,  who  had  good  reason 
to  dislike  him,  that  he  never  encouraged  corrupt 
practices,  and  that  he  was  ready  to  sustain  a  just 
cause — "  even  by  unjust  means." 

Lucien  Bonaparte  avowed  himself  his  friend.  "  The 
number  of  enemies  which  he  owes  to  his  extraordinary 
favour  with  the  king  and  queen  will  not  prevent  me 
saying  that  the  Prince  of  the  Peace,  as  I  saw  him,  was 
at  all  times  amiable,  obliging,  sincere,  compassionate, 
chivalrously  gallant  towards  women,  personally  coura- 
geous, much  better  informed  than  his  traducers  care 
to  admit ;  in  short  I  was  as  much  his  friend  as  he 
showed  himself  to  be  mine  on  every  occasion." 

Bourgoing,  who  knew  him  at  the  dawn  of  his  pros- 
perity, remarked  that  the  favourite  inspired  more 
jealousy  than  hatred.  "  He  tries  to  please  as  many 
as  possible.  He  has  given  several  proofs  of  humanity 
and  kindness,  he  remedies  injustices."  To  his  good 
qualities,  and  in  particular  to  his  kindness  of  heart, 
Lord  Holland — no  friend  of  kings  and  their  favourites 
— bears  ready  witness. 

"  His  manner,"  says  his  lordship,  "  though  some- 
what indolent,  or  what  the  French  call  nonchalant, 
was  graceful  and  attractive.  Though  he  had  neither 
education  or  reading  [?],  his  language  was  at  once 
elegant  and  peculiar,  and  notwithstanding  his  humble 
origin  [sic\  his  whole  deportment  announced  more 


§4  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

than  that  of  any  untravelled  Spaniard  I  ever  met 
with  that  mixture  of  dignity,  politeness,  propriety,  and 
ease  which  the  habits  of  good  company  are  supposed 
exclusively  to  confer.  He  seemed  born  for  a  high 
station.  Without  any  effort  he  would  have  passed, 
wherever  he  was,  for  the  first  man  in  the  company. 
I  never  conversed  with  him  sufficiently  to  form  any 
judgment  of  his  understanding.  Our  interviews  were 
mere  interchanges  of  civility.  But  a  transaction  of 
no  importance  to  the  public,  but  of  great  importance 
to  the  parties  concerned,  took  place  between  us, 
and  he  not  only  behaved  with  great  courtesy  to  me 
but  showed  both  humanity  and  magnanimity.  A 
young  English  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Powell  had, 
before  the  war  between  England  and  Spain,  engaged 
either  with  General  Miranda  or  some  other  South 
American  adventurer  in  an  expedition  to  liberate 
the  Spanish  colonies.  He  was  taken.  By  law  his 
life  was  forfeited,  but  he  was  condemned  by  a  sentence 
nearly  equivalent  to  perpetual  imprisonment  in  the 
unwholesome  fortress  of  Omoa.  His  father,  chief 
justice  of  Canada,  on  hearing  the  sad  tidings,  hastened 
to  England.  Unfortunately  hostilities  had  com- 
menced under  circumstances  calculated  to  exasperate 
the  people  and  Government  of  Spain.  The  chief 
justice  was,  however,  determined  to  try  the  efficacy 
of  a  personal  application  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of 
his  son  by  a  change  of  prison,  since  he  despaired  of 
obtaining  his  release.  He  proceeded  to  Spain,  fur- 
nished with  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  Prince  of 
the  Peace  from  me,  to  whom  he  applied  as  one  recently 
arrived  from  thence  and  not  involved  in  the  angry 
feelings  and  discussions  which  had  led  to  the  rupture 


Halcyon  Days  for  Spain  85 

between  the  two  countries.  The  prince  received 
him  at  Aranjuez,  and,  on  reading  the  letter  and  hearing 
the  story,  bade  the  anxious  father  remain  till  he  had 
seen  the  king,  and  left  the  room  for  that  purpose 
without  ceremony  or  delay.  He  soon  returned  with 
an  order,  not  for  the  change  of  prison,  but  for  the 
immediate  liberation  of  the  young  man.  Nor  was  he 
satisfied  with  this  act  of  humanity,  for  with  a  smile 
of  benevolence  he  added  that  a  father  who  had  come 
so  far  to  render  a  service  to  his  child  would  probably 
like  to  be  the  bearer  of  good  intelligence  himself, 
and  accordingly  he  furnished  him  with  a  passport 
and  permission  to  sail  in  a  Spanish  frigate  then  pre- 
paring to  leave  Cadiz  for  the  West  Indies." 

He  displayed,  as  we  know,  even  greater  magnanimity 
towards  his  personal  enemies  and  rivals.  "  He  cele- 
brated his  triumph  with  a  feigned  generosity,"  admits. 
M.  Alexandre  Tratchevsky,  with  unfeigned  ungener- 
osity.  *  Aranda  was  released  from  his  gilded  cage 
on  the  Alhambra  hill ;  Floridablanca  was  set  free 
from  his  prison  and  allowed  to  reside  at  his  native 
city  of  Murcia  ;  Cabarrus,  one  of  his  associates,  who 
had  been  implicated  in  a  banking  scandal,  was  not 
only  set  at  liberty,  but  employed  by  the  Prime  Minister 
in  diplomatic  and  financial  business  to  the  advantage 
of  the  State. 

Benevolence  is  the  essential  quality  in  a  ruler. 
Without  it  efficiency  and  sagacity  may  be  mischievous 
rather  than  beneficial.  Government  exists  only  to 
promote  the  happiness  of  the  governed.  This  Godoy 
never  forgot.  By  his  administration  of  Spain  he  well 
deserved  his  title.     It  is  but  fair  to  acknowledge  the 

*  "  Revue  Historique,"  vol.  ixxiii.  p.  43. 


86  Godoy :  the  Queen*s  Favourite 

mildness  and  tolerance  of  his  sway,  reluctantly  admits 
a  Spanish  critic.  "  My  administration,"  boasts  the 
Prince  of  the  Peace,  "  has  left  no  traces  of  blood. 
State  trials  were  extremely  rare,  and  were  menaces 
rather  than  serious  prosecutions.  In  the  gaols  only 
common  malefactors  were  to  be  found.  Through- 
out this  stormy  period  trials  by  the  Inquisition, 
arbitrary  imprisonments,  and  harsh  penalties  were 
unknown  among  us." 

The  claws  of  the  Holy  Office  the  young  minister 
very  soon  cut.  We  have  seen  how  he  refused  to 
surrender  Aranda  to  its  clutches.  Olavide,  who  had 
been  savagely  persecuted  in  the  preceding  reign  and 
then  banished  on  account  of  his  "  philosophical " 
opinions,  he  not  only  recalled  but  endowed  with  a 
pension.  He  next  dragged  out  of  the  Inquisition's 
fangs  an  unfortunate  Hebrew  who  had  come  over 
from  Morocco  to  visit  the  graves  of  his  forefathers. 
When  Don  Ramon  de  Salas  was  prosecuted  by  the 
same  dread  tribunal,  this  upstart  minister  coolly 
ordered  the  matter  to  be  referred  to  the  Council  of 
Castile  ;  and  wound  up  by  obtaining  a  decree  from 
the  king  forbidding  the  Holy  Inquisition  to  undertake 
any  proceedings  without  the  royal  assent.  For  this 
he  was  not  forgiven  by  the  church  of  Spain. 

He  was  the  Maecenas  of  his  age.  The  best  friend 
of  enlightenment  Spain  has  ever  had,  Hume  calls 
him.  This  man,  who  was  sneered  at  as  unlettered, 
as  hardly  able  to  write  his  own  name,  at  least  rever- 
enced and  encouraged  intellect  in  others.  He  sought 
out  men  of  learning  and  ability  in  the  remotest  corners 
of  the  country,  and  strove  to  reward  them  and  to 
benefit  the  State  by  giving  them  posts  in  the  govern- 


GODOY, 


87 


Halcyon  Days  for  Spain  89 

ment  service.  His  immense  fortune  was  lavishly 
employed  in  the  patronage  and  assistance  of  struggling 
genius.  His  name  is  for  ever  associated  with  the  fame 
of  Melendez,  one  of  Spain's  most  distinguished  men 
of  letters.  To  him  Moratin  owed  not  only  his 
training  as  a  dramatic  writer,  but  the  position  in 
society  which  assured  his  success.  When  the  minister 
fell,  the  dramatist  refused  to  turn  against  him.  "  I 
was  neither  his  friend  nor  his  counsellor  nor  his 
servant,"  he  said,  "  but  all  that  I  was  I  owed  to  him ; 
and  although  we  have  nowadays  a  convenient  philo- 
sophy which  teaches  men  to  receive  benefits  without 
gratitude,  and  to  pay  with  reproach  favours  asked 
and  received  when  circumstances  alter,  I  value  my 
own  good  opinion  too  much  to  condescend  to  such 
infamy." 

Floridablanca  and  his  successor,  alarmed  by  the 
progress  of  revolutionary  ideas,  had  endeavoured 
to  uproot  the  tree  of  learning  which  Charles  HI. 
had  sedulously  cultivated.  Not  so  Godoy.  He  re- 
organised the  universities,  and  promulgated  a  new 
scheme  of  public  instruction.  He  did  his  utmost  to 
fill  the  academic  chairs  with  the  ablest  men  that 
Spain  could  produce.  He  had  no  fear  of  the  diffusion 
of  culture.  The  censorship,  rigidly  enforced  by  his 
predecessors,  was  relaxed  and  foreign  works  were 
freely  admitted  into  the  kingdom,  provided  that  they 
did  not  directly  assail  the  principles  of  monarchy  and 
religion. 

Godoy's    best    services    to    his    country    consisted 

perhaps   in   the   furtherance   of   practical   education. 

In   1795   he  founded   the   Royal  Medical   College  at 

Madrid.     Before    his    time    any    village    barber    or 

6 


go  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

quack,  however  ignorant,  was  able  to  practise  upon 
the  king's  subjects ;  now,  hy  royal  decree,  no  one 
was  allowed  to  exercise  the  profession  of  a  surgeon  or 
physician  without  having  received  a  diploma  from 
the  competent  medical  authority.  Thousands  of 
Spaniards  must  have  been  indebted  for  their  health 
and  life  to  Godoy,  thanks  to  this  reform  alone.  Nor 
did  he  forget  the  animal  kingdom.  To  him  the 
veterinary  college  of  Madrid  owes  its  existence.  A 
staff  of  linguists  was  kept  at  work  to  translate  the 
leading  medical  works  of  Europe  into  Spanish.  Such 
was  Godoy's  concern  for  the  bodies  of  his  country- 
men that  a  pious  friend  thought  fit  to  adjure  him  to 
take  heed  rather  for  their  souls  and  to  remind  him 
that  physician  and  materialist  were  generally  synony- 
mous terms. 

The  man,  unlike  most  statesmen,  was  genuinely 
anxious  to  do  practical  good.  Not  content  with 
founding  learned  institutions  and  stimulating  a  taste 
for  culture,  he  tried  hard  to  teach  his  countrymen 
how  to  earn  their  living.  He  strenuously  encouraged 
technical  education.  Commissioners  were  despatched 
to  England  to  report  on  the  best  methods  of  pro- 
moting industry.  Schools  for  instruction  in  the  handi- 
crafts were  established  in  Madrid  and  the  provinces. 
The  instruments  used  in  the  medical  college  and  the 
royal  observatory  were  all  made  by  Spanish  hands 
in  the  adjacent  workshops.  A  school  of  clock-making 
and  a  factory  for  musical  instruments  were  opened 
in  1798.  Experts  were  called  in  to  teach  the  Spaniards 
how  to  design  wall-papers.  New  methods  were 
introduced  into  the  cloth-making  and  silk  industries. 
Pamphlets    explaining    them    were    printed    at    the 


Halcyon  Days  for  Spain  91 

expense  of  the  State  and  distributed  free.  The 
economical  works  of  Adam  Smith  and  Hume,  hitherto 
banned  as  the  works  of  the  devil,  were  translated 
and  circulated. 

This  profligate  and  upstart,  as  his  enemies  loved 
to  call  him,  was  like  the  gentle-hearted  Captain 
Coram,  profoundly  moved  by  the  plight  of  the 
foundling  children  left  to  perish  in  the  streets  of 
Spanish  cities.  A  hospital  for  their  reception  had 
indeed  been  founded  by  Charles  III.,  but  it  was 
shamefully  mismanaged  and  wholly  insufhcient  for 
the  needs  of  the  time.  Of  course  there  were  in 
Spain  then,  as  in  England  to-day,  "  moralists "  who 
wanted  to  punish  vice  by  striking  at  its  helpless 
victims ;  though  in  that  catholic  land  none  dared  to 
brand  this  concern  for  human  life  as  sentimentality. 
"  I  looked  upon  it,"  says  Godoy,  "  as  the  duty  of  the 
State  to  come  to  the  aid  of  these  unfortunates.  It 
behoved  the  Government  to  stand  them  in  lieu  of 
father  and  mother,  and  not  to  punish  them  for  the 
insensibility  or  weakness  of  the  authors  of  their 
being." 

Charles  was  moved  by  his  favourite's  appeal.  The 
decrees  of  1794  and  1796  directed  the  work  of  his 
father  to  be  reorganised  and  extended.  His  majesty 
announced  that  he  would  take  effectual  measures 
for  the  relief  of  destitute  and  abandoned  children, 
and  sternly  forbade  any  one  to  speak  of  them  as 
"  bastards  "  or  "  illegitimate."  He  also  lent  a  willing 
ear  to  Godoy's  plea  for  the  deaf  and  dumb.  Instead 
of  consigning  these  luckless  ones  to  the  lethal  chamber, 
according  to  the  recommendation  of  modern  deans 
and  journalists,   the   minister  had   them  taught  the 


92  Gcxioy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

deaf-and-dumb  alphabet  and  trained  in  useful  handi- 
crafts. 

A  reformer,  in  a  sweeping  sense,  Godoy  was  not. 
He  sympathised  with  the  social  and  intellectual 
tendencies  of  the  revolution,  but  he  was  firmly- 
attached  to  the  ancient  form  of  government  in  Spain. 
He  believed  in  hereditary  monarchy  limited  by  law. 
In  the  old  Council  of  Castile  he  saw  the  germs  of 
a  valuable  consultative  assembly,  and  he  caused  the 
Council  of  Ministers  to  sit  practically  permanently. 
He  refused  to  deprive  the  Basques  of  their  old  liberties 
and  institutions  in  punishment  of  their  demonstra- 
tions of  sympathy  with  the  French  invaders.  His 
policy  was  almost  wholly  constructive.  He  had 
faith  in  the  institutions  of  his  country,  and  believed 
that  they  could  be  adapted  to  the  increasing  require- 
ments of  successive  generations.  He  was  no  inno- 
vator, yet  he  did  not  hesitate  to  attack  abuses.  As 
an  Extremeno  he  had  witnessed  the  injury  done  to 
agriculture  by  the  Mesta,  a  powerful  corporation 
existing  from  ancient  times  privileged  to  pasture 
their  enormous  flocks  on  vast  areas  of  country.  Thanks- 
to  him,  these  privileges  were  curtailed  and  after- 
wards abolished.  The  authority  of  the  trade  guilds 
was  limited  in  the  interests  of  artisans,  and  the  In- 
quisition was  strictly  forbidden  to  interfere  with 
foreign  workmen  not  of  the  catholic  religion  whom 
the  minister  wished  to  attract  to  the  country. 

Godoy,  in  fact,  resumed  and  infused  a  more  humane 
spirit  into  the  policy  of  internal  amelioration  begun 
in  the  preceding  reign  and  reversed  by  Floridablanca. 
The  material  prosperity  of  the  country  was  un- 
deniable— roads  were  made,  industry  flourished,  life 


Halcyon  Days  for  Spain  93 

and  property  were  secure,  opinions  were  respected. 
The  will  to  do  good  amply  made  up  for  the  young 
minister's  want  of  experience. 

He  was  well  aware  of  his  own  deficiencies.  Finance 
is  the  stumbling-block  to  the  tyro  statesman.  Godoy, 
therefore,  greedily  availed  himself  in  this  depart- 
ment of  the  services  of  experts.  Of  these  the  crafty 
Cabarrus  was  one — the  man  who  afterwards  served 
Joseph  Bonaparte  in  the  like  capacity.  But  the 
resources  of  Spain  were  limited  and  its  expenses 
enormous.  The  ablest  financier  could  achieve  little. 
Godoy  took  care,  at  least,  that  the  burden  of  taxation 
should  fall  almost  entirely  on  the  rich.  He  thought 
that  those  who  live  merely  by  virtue  of  their  ancestors' 
thrift  owe  more  to  the  State  than  those  who  enrich 
it  by  their  own  labour. 

The  people  proved  less  grateful  than  the  poets. 
They  had  long  lagged  behind  their  rulers  in  the  path 
of  social  reform,  and  resented  even  the  attempts  to 
revive  their  flagging  industries.  The  landowners  and 
wealthy  religious  bodies  called  upon  by  the  minister 
to  disgorge  their  riches  were  then,  as  always,  able 
to  make  the  poor  weep  with  them.  The  rich  man 
revenges  himself  on  the  poor  by  reducing  his  wage  or 
refusing  him  alms,  and  the  poor  man  can  easily  be 
persuaded  that  the  blame  is  that  of  the  Government 
which  has  taxed  the  rich  man.  Yet,  perhaps,  if 
Spain  had  remained  deaf  the  next  twelve  years  to  the 
threats  and  temptations  of  her  northern  neighbours, 
the  administration  of  Godoy  might  still  have  been 
remembered  with  thankfulness. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   ALLIANCE   WITH   THE    REGICIDES 

Manuel  Godoy  was  essentially  an  easy-going,  kindly 
disposed  man,  much  fonder  of  pleasure  than  of  work. 
His  own  instincts  and  interests  were  in  harmony 
with  his  new  title  ;  yet  no  sooner  had  he  brought 
one  war  to  a  conclusion  than  he  proposed  to  embark 
upon  another.  Immediately  upon  the  signature  of 
the  treaty  of  Bale,  he  determined  to  join  his  late 
enemy  in  an  attack  upon  his  late  ally.  France  was 
the  natural  friend,  England  the  natural  enemy  of 
Spain.  The  two  Latin  peoples  fell  weeping  into 
each  other's  arms.  Republicans  and  monarchists 
discovered  that  they  were  brothers.  The  Spanish 
ambassador  at  Paris — the  son,  by  the  way,  of  an 
Englishwoman  named  Field — manifested  a  truly  re- 
publican simplicity  and  a  truly  Parisian  indifference 
to  propriety.  The  grateful  Directory  discontinued 
its  efforts  to  seduce  the  subjects  of  King  Charles 
from  their  allegiance.  Spain's  overtures  on  behalf 
of  the  Pope  and  the  Italian  princes  were  listened  to 
with  politeness.  "  Spain,"  cried  Burke,  "  has  become 
the  fief  of  the  regicides." 

This  unnatural  alliance  between  the  cousin  of 
Louis  XVI.  and  the  representatives  of  his  executioners 
is  hard  to  explain.     It  is  boldly  asserted  by  an  English 

94 


The  Alliance  with  the  Regicides  95 

historian  *    that   Charles    IV.   looked   for   the   speedy- 
break-up  of  the  republic,  and  hoped  to  be  called  to 
succeed  his  kinsman  on  the  throne  of  France.     This 
theory  meets  with  no  approval  from  Spanish  writers ; 
it  is  not  hinted  at  in  the  memoirs  of  the  time  ;    but 
it  certainly  offers   the   most  satisfactory  explanation 
of  a  policy  so  opposed  to  the  instincts  and  sentiments 
of  the  king  and  to  the  temperament  of  his  favourite. 
Godoy,  of  course,  justifies  his  change  of  front  on 
other  grounds.     He  rapidly  strung  together  a  long 
list  of  grievances  against  England.     We  had  protested 
against  the  cession  of   Santo  Domingo,  we  had  kept 
Spanish   prizes    recovered    by   our   vessels   from   the 
French,  we  had  neglected  the  interests  of  our  ally 
at  Toulon,  we  had  insulted  the  Spanish  flag  on  the 
high  seas,  we  had  treated  neutrals  as  enemies,  we  had 
pushed  our  right  of  search  beyond  legitimate  limits, 
we  had  fomented  disorder  in  South  America.      These 
charges   were   no   doubt   true,   but   taken   altogether 
they  hardly  warranted  Spain  going  to  war  with  the 
only  Power  which  could  harm  her,  and  which,  more- 
over, coveted  her  oversea  possessions.     The  Directory, 
naturally,  did  its  utmost  to  inflame  the  dons'  resent- 
ment.    It   circulated   rumours    that    England    medi- 
tated landing  an  army  in  Portugal,  and  that  she  had 
promised  Russia    the  Balearic   Islands  in  return  for 
her  aid.     By  renewing  the  family  compact  of  1761, 
Spain  and  France  would  present  a  united  front  to 
the  world  and  secure  respect. 

Godoy,  whose  real  motive  for  currying  favour  with 
the  French  we  have  attempted  to  guess,  submitted 
the  question  of  peace  and  war  to  the  Council.     That 

1  Major  Martin  Hume. 


96  Godoy :  the  Queen's  Favourite 

body  welcomed  a  return  to  the  old  policy  of  hostility 
to  England.  France  had  now  a  regular  government, 
and  there  seemed  no  reason  why  the  old  relations 
of  the  two  Latin  Powers  should  not  be  resumed. 
The  Directory  certainly  did  not  covet  any  territory 
south  of  the  Pyrenees,  while  England  still  held  Gib- 
raltar and  looked  with  a  greedy  eye  on  the  Indies. 
This  seemed  a  good  opportunity  to  settle  accounts 
with  the  traditional  foe. 

On  August  19,  1796,  accordingly,  an  alliance 
offensive  and  defensive  between  Spain  and  France 
was  established  by  the  treaty  of  San  Ildefonso.  Each 
Power  covenanted  to  furnish  the  other,  when  called 
upon  to  do  so,  with  fifteen  ships  of  the  line,  six 
frigates,  and  four  corvettes,  and  an  army  of  18,000 
foot,  6,000  horse,  and  guns  in  proportion.  The 
eighteenth  article  of  the  treaty  announced  that, 
England  being  the  only  Power  against  which  Spain 
had  direct  grounds  of  complaint,  the  alliance  should 
be  valid  during  the  actual  war  against  her  only,  and 
not  against  any  of  the  other  nations  at  war  with  the 
republic. 

War  was  declared  by  Spain  on  October  6  and 
continued  for  the  next  six  years.  That  Spain  gained 
nothing  by  it,  except  the  dubious  friendship  of 
France,  is  to  say  what  should  have  been  foreseen  by 
all  men  from  the  first.  The  wonder  is  that  she 
suffered  so  little.  Upon  the  outbreak  of  hostilities 
the  English  abandoned  Corsica,  and  their  fleets 
disappeared  from  the  Mediterranean  for  another 
eighteen  months — to  the  immense  advantage  of  the 
French.  True,  the  Spanish  fleet  was  seriously  crippled 
by  Jervis   off    Cape   St.   Vincent,   but   the   English 


The  Alliance  with  the  Regicides  97 

attacks  upon  Cadiz  and  Teneriffe  were  defeated 
with  severe  loss.  Godoy  had  prudently  protracted 
the  negotiations  with  France,  till  he  had  put  the 
South  American  possessions  in  a  state  of  defence. 
There  Spain  lost  Trinidad,  but  successfully  repelled 
descents  upon  Cuba  and  Puerto  Rico. 

Meanwhile  French  fleets  were  able  to  cross  the 
Atlantic  with  impunity.  The  privateers  of  the 
allies  scoured  the  seas  and  inflicted  enormous  damage 
on  British  shipping.  No  fewer  than  3,466  of  our 
merchantmen  were  taken.  In  this  remunerative 
form  of  reprisals  the  Spaniards  evidently  took  a  large 
share,  for  in  the  year  following  the  treaty  of  San 
Ildefonso  the  number  of  English  prizes  rose  to  949, 
nearly  double  the  total  of  the  preceding  year. 

Godoy  affected  to  be  so  elated  by  these  results 
that  when  England,  in  July  1797,  showed  a  disposition 
to  treat,  he  announced  that  Spain  would  be  satisfied 
with  nothing  less  than  the  retrocession  of  Gibraltar, 
Trinidad,  and  the  Nootka  Sound  territory,  with 
Jamaica  thrown  in  by  way  of  indemnity.  He  now 
learnt  that  gratitude  was  no  part  of  the  republic's 
policy.  The  Directory,  at  the  instance  of  the  English 
envoy,  refused  to  admit  the  representatives  of  her 
ally  to  the  conference,  promising,  however,  to  look 
after  her  interests.  But  the  negotiations  proved 
abortive.  The  i8th  of  Fructidor  saw  the  downfall  of 
the  peace  party  in  France,  and  England  was  left  to 
continue  the  war  without  a  single  ally. 

This  miniature  revolution,  at  the  same  time,  must 
have  dispelled  all  King  Charles's  hope  of  one  day 
seating  himself  on  the  throne  of  St.  Louis.  Yet  he 
refused  to  console  himself  by  taking  another  crown. 


98  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

While  England  and  France  were  wasting  time  at 
Lille,  Godoy  had  induced  the  Portuguese  Govern- 
ment to  abandon  the  English  alliance  and  to  pro- 
claim that  henceforward  the  hospitality  of  its  harbours 
would  be  denied  to  more  than  six  warships  of  either 
combatant  at  any  one  time.  An  attempt,  due  to 
pressure  from  England,  to  evade  this  stipulation 
brought  down  upon  Portugal  the  wrath  of  the  Direc- 
tory. King  Charles  was  invited  to  conquer  the 
sister  kingdom,  and  was  promised  the  help  of  30,000 
seasoned  French  troops  for  that  purpose. 

This,  remarks  General  Arteche,  was  the  best  chance 
Spain  has  ever  had  of  recovering  the  territory  lost  by 
the  Habsburgs,  and  all  might  have  been  forgiven 
Charles  and  his  minister  if  they  had  profited  by  it. 
The  honest  king  rejected  the  offer.  His  eldest 
daughter  (the  notorious  Carlota  Joaquina)  was  married 
to  the  Portuguese  heir-apparent.  He  had  no  wish 
to  rob  his  own  grandchildren.  Godoy  perhaps  was 
less  affected  by  these  scruples  than  by  the  danger 
of  letting  30,000  French  troops  into  Spain,  of  which 
Cabarrus,  his  agent  at  Paris,  did  not  cease  to  warn 
him.  He  offered,  therefore,  his  mediation  between 
France  and  Portugal,  and  restored  friendly  relations 
between  them.  To  effect  this,  it  is  said  that  Ca- 
barrus had  to  spend  about  two  million  francs  in  Paris. 
The  money  was  doubtless  supplied  by  the  Portuguese 
court,  which  showed  its  appreciation  of  Godoy's 
good  offices  by  conferring  on  him  the  order  of  Christ 
and  the  title  of  count  of  Evoramonte,  with  some 
estates  which  had  formerly  belonged  to  his  mother's 
ancestors. 

The  alliance  was   not   working  smoothly.     At   all 


The  Alliance  with  the  Regicides  99 

points  the  interests  of  the  Directory  appeared  to 
clash  with  his  catholic  majesty's  personal  affections 
and  sympathies.  The  duchy  of  Parma,  ruled  by  his 
cousin,  Maria  Luisa's  brother,  was  regarded  as  an 
eyesore  by  the  newly  founded  Cisalpine  republic. 
The  duke  was  invited  to  exchange  his  ancestral 
dominions  for  the  island  of  Sardinia.  He  refused 
and  was  forced,  contrary  to  treaty,  to  receive  a  French 
garrison  of  ten  thousand  men. 

By  the   treaty   of    Bale   France   had  promised   to 
admit  the  mediation  of  Spain  between  her  and  the 
Pope.     When   his    holiness    determined    to    join    the 
league  against  the  republic,  he  exhorted  Charles  to 
join   him.     "  His   nuncio   at   Madrid,"    says   Godoy, 
*'  used  all  possible  persuasions  with  the  cabinet  then 
confided    to    my    direction.     The    king's    answer,    as 
well  as  mine,  was  filled  with  sentiments  of  piety,  love, 
and  respect  for  the  common  father  of  the  faithful, 
but  his   majesty  solicited  Pius  VI.   not  to  interfere 
in  wars  which  might  compromise  his  character  and 
his    existence."     These    warnings    were    vain.     The 
victorious  army  of  Bonaparte  overran  the  Legations 
and  crossed  the  historic  Rubicon.     Godoy  promptly 
directed   Azara,    the    Spanish   minister   at    Rome,    to 
intercede  with  the  conqueror.     The  treaty  of  Tolen- 
tino   was    concluded,    thanks    to    the    efforts    of    this 
envoy,    as    Bonaparte    himself    acknowledged,    adding 
that  his  presence  at  the  pontifical  court  would  pro- 
bably contribute  to  the  maintenance  of  peace. 

The  treaty  no  doubt  saved  the  Pope  his  sovereignty, 
but  it  cost  him  his  richest  provinces,  his  choicest 
art-treasures,  and  a  third  of  his  revenue.  The  Spanish 
Prime  Minister  was  blamed  for  not  having  secured 


100  Godoy:  the  Quecn*s  Favourite 

him  better  terms.  The  Italian  courts  sought  his 
overthrow,  forgetting  that  a  quarrel  between  France 
and  their  only  friend,  Spain,  must  mean  their  own 
destruction.  But  Godoy  had  a  more  dangerous  foe 
to  reckon  with  in  the  palace  itself.  The  king's 
affection  for  him  grew  stronger  every  day,  but  on 
the  queen  he  could  never  rely.  It  was  not  in  her 
nature  to  be  true  to  any  one,  and  his  innumerable 
love-affairs  gave  her  abundant  excuse  for  her  variations. 
She  was  jealous,  too,  of  his  dominion  over  her  husband, 
which  made  him  independent  of  her  whims,  and,  I 
doubt  not,  less  attentive.  Over  and  over  again  her 
passion  for  him  was  interrupted  by  fits  of  anger  and 
long  intervals  of  downright  hostility.  For  such 
lapses  Godoy  must  have  been  to  some  extent  thankful, 
for  they  gave  him  leisure  to  worship  before  other 
shrines.  Besides,  he  could  always  make  her  return 
to  him  in  the  end.  But  his  tigress  had  sharp  claws, 
and  her  gusts  of  resentment  went  more  than  once 
towards  his  undoing. 

In  such  an  angry  mood  she  fell  in  with  an  Italian 
named  Malaspina,  an  officer  of  high  rank  in  the 
Spanish  navy.  He  was  a  handsome  and  accomplished 
man,  who  had  lately  gained  much  fame  and  applause 
by  a  voyage  round  the  world.  By  the  countess  of 
Matallana  he  was  introduced  into  the  queen's  boudoir. 
Whether  he  was  tempted,  as  some  say,  with  the 
viceroyalty  of  the  Indies,  or  promised  the  favour  of 
her  majesty,  he  consented  to  draw  up  a  memorial 
to  the  king  representing  the  favourite  in  the  most 
odious  light.  On  the  pretext  of  visiting  his  kinsfolk 
in  Lombardy,  he  seems  to  have  found  an  oppor- 
tunity of  concerting  a  scheme  for  Godoy's  destruction 


The  Alliance  with  the  Regicides  loi 

with  the  queen^s  friends  at  the  court  of  Parma. 
"  He  was  at  this  time,"  says  Blanco  White,  "  pre- 
paring an  account  of  his  voyage  for  publication, 
with  the  assistance  of  a  conceited  sciolist,  a  Sevillian 
friar,  called  Padre  Gil,  who  in  our  great  dearth  of 
real  knowledge,  was  looked  upon  as  a  miracle  of 
erudition  and  eloquence.  Malaspina,  putting  aside 
his  charts  and  log-books,  eagerly  collected  every 
charge  against  Godoy  which  was  likely  to  make  an 
impression  upon  the  king  ;  while  the  friar,  inspired 
with  the  vision  of  a  mitre  ready  to  drop  upon  his 
head,  clothed  them  in  the  most  florid  and  powerful 
figures  which  used  to  enrapture  his  audience  from 
the  pulpit." 

But  the  conspirators  did  not  understand  their 
mistress.  Her  passion  was  not  dead,  but  merely 
smouldering.  Her  old  lover,  warned  of  his  danger, 
was  easily  able  to  rekindle  her  love  once  more.  In 
a  moment  of  tenderness,  she  uttered  some  vague 
expression  of  regret  which  supplied  the  clue  to  the 
mystery.  The  countess  of  Matallana,  having  refused 
to  betray  her  accomplices,  was  banished  from  court. 
Her  stubbornness  was  vain.  Malaspina  was  arrested 
and  imprisoned  in  the  castle  of  San  Anton  at  Corunna. 
He  was,  soon  after,  set  at  liberty  by  Godoy,  but 
banished  under  pain  of  death  from  the  Spanish 
dominions.  "  The  reverend  writer  of  the  memor- 
andum," adds  Blanco  White  maliciously,  "  was  for- 
warded under  an  escort  to  Seville,  the  scene  of  his 
former  literary  glory,  to  be  confined  in  a  house  of 
correction  where  juvenile  offenders  of  the  lower 
classes  are  sent  to  undergo  a  salutary  course  of  flogging." 

The  next  attack  was  also  directed  by  churchmen. 


102  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

Godo^  was  formally  denounced  to  the  Inquisition  as 
an  atheist,  a  notorious  evil  liver,  and  one  who  had 
not  for  eight  years  complied  with  the  paschal  precept. 
Cardinal  Lorenzana,  the  Inquisitor-General,  had  no 
desire  to  try  conclusions  with  so  formidable  a  sinner, 
and  refused  to  prosecute.  For  this  respect  of  dignities 
he  was  rebuked  by  his  brethren,  the  archbishop  of 
Seville  and  that  very  Rafael  Musquitz  whom  Godoy 
had  given  as  confessor  to  the  queen.  These  zealous 
priests  promptly  wrote  off  to  Rome,  complaining 
of  the  inquisitor's  neglect  of  duty.  His  holiness, 
angry  with  the  minister  for  not  having  broken  with 
France,  or  for  having  failed  to  get  him  better  terms 
at  Tolentino,  at  once  addressed  a  sharp  reproof  to 
the  cardinal,  coupled  with  instructions  to  proceed 
against  the  accused. 

This  letter  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  by 
whom  it  was  passed  on  to  the  Prince  of  the  Peace. 
His  highness  put  it  in  his  pocket  and  bided  his  time. 
When  the  French  renewed  the  quarrel  with  the 
Pope  and  entered  Rome,  he  sent  a  mission  to  Rome 
to  offer  comfort  and  support  to  the  holy  father.  The 
deputation  was  composed  of  the  Inquisitor-General 
and  his  two  accusers.  The  three  ecclesiastics,  it  may 
be  supposed,  did  not  much  enjoy  each  other's  com- 
pany, and  must  have  surprised  Pius  VI.  by  appearing 
together  before  him. 

It  is  probable  that  Maria  Luisa  had  a  hand  in  this 
intrigue  also.  She  was  exasperated  by  the  discovery 
of  her  lover's  relations  with  Dona  Josefa  ("  Pepita  ") 
Tudo,  an  Andalusian  of  great  charm  and  beauty. 
This  lady  was  the  daughter  of  an  artillery  officer 
who  had  done  good  service  for  the  State,  and  had 


The  Alliance  with  the  Regicides         103 

left  his  wife  and  children — as  army  officers  often  do — 
practically  penniless.  The  widow,  Doiia  Catalina 
Tudo  Y  Catalan,  came  to  Madrid  with  her  three 
daughters,  Josefa,  Magdalena,  and  Socorro,  and  were 
introduced  by  the  minister  Valdez  to  Godoy.  He 
was  much  interested  in  the  widow's  story,  and  still 
more  in  her  beautiful  daughter.  He  secured  the 
mother  a  pension,  and  paid  violent  court  to  Josefa. 
He  conceived  for  her  the  strongest  and  longest  passion 
of  his  life.  She  was  presently  given  an  honourable 
office  about  the  queen,  and  the  rumour  ran  through 
Madrid  that  she  had  become  his  wife. 

To  contract  a  binding  marriage  in  secret  is  not 
difficult  in  Spain.  Even  to-day,  when  the  form  of 
marriage  has  become  so  much  more  regarded  than 
the  thing,  Spanish  lovers  will  meet  together  at  mass, 
and  at  the  moment  of  the  Benediction  join  hands  and 
plight  their  troths,  unnoticed  perhaps  except  by  the 
friends  they  have  brought  to  witness  this  private 
union.  After  some  such  fashion  Godoy  may  have 
married  Pepita,  but  neither  has  ever  told  us  so.  The 
lady,  though  extremely  high-spirited  and  passionate, 
continued  to  live  in  the  palace  and  to  witness  her 
lover's  attentions  to  the  queen.  Assured  of  their 
insincerity,  she  was  not,  I  suppose,  much  pained  by 
them.  In  any  case,  to  come  between  Godoy  and  his 
royal  mistress  would  have  been  to  ruin  him. 

Maria  Luisa  soon  became  suspicious.  Her  simple- 
minded  husband,  we  are  not  very  credibly  informed, 
believed  his  favourite  to  be  a  model  of  austere  virtue. 
The  angry  queen  bade  him,  therefore,  accompany 
her  at  once  to  Godoy's  apartments.  They  surprised 
the  lovers   together,   but   Charles   was   not   seriously 


I04  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

shocked  and  Maria  Luisa  satisfied  herself  that  the 
Tudo  was  not  her  lover's  lawful  wife.  Her  wrath 
evaporated,  and  Pepita  became  in  after-years  her 
devoted  friend. 

Her  majesty's  changing  moods  were  carefully  noted 
by  the  French  ambassador  and  his  spies  about  the 
court.  Their  importance  was  no  doubt  greatly  ex- 
aggerated by  the  Directory,  which  had  long  become 
distrustful  of  Godoy.  His  conduct  with  regard  to 
Portugal  and  the  Pope  had  shown  them  that  he  would 
not  be  made  their  cat's-paw.  They  suspected  him 
of  intriguing  with  the  brothers  of  Louis  XVI.  An 
ingenious  proposal  was  devised  to  get  rid  of  him  and 
at  the  same  time  to  obtain  for  France  a  long-coveted 
stronghold.  Malta  was  then  held  by  its  sovereign 
order  of  knights.  It  was  expected  that  the  Grand- 
Master  would  presently  die.  Perignon,  the  French 
representative  at  Madrid,  suggested  that  Spain  and 
France  should  combine  to  put  Godoy  in  the  vacant 
place,  "  temporarily,"  the  ambassador  no  doubt 
murmured  under  his  breath.  The  favourite  affected 
to  fall  in  with  the  scheme,  and  Charles  delightedly 
promised  to  find  him  a  wife  worthy  of  the  proffered 
dignity.  But  Godoy  penetrated  the  designs  of  the 
Directory.  He  knew  that  this  was  a  project  merely 
to  remove  him,  and  that  Malta  would  not  long 
remain  his.     He  refused  to  swallow  the  bait. 

The  match  proposed  by  Charles,  however,  was  pro- 
ceeded with — probably  at  the  instance  of  the  queen, 
who  feared  that  her  lover  might  be  torn  from  her 
by  one  who  could  claim  him  both  by  love  and  law. 
She  would  marry  him  to  some  one  to  whom  he  was 
indifferent.     The  king  had  two  nieces  handy  for  the 


JOVELLANOS. 
(Goya) 


105 


The  Alliance  with  the  Regicides  107 

purpose.  Their  father,  Don  Luis,  had  been  invested 
with  the  archbishopric  of  Seville  and  raised  to  the 
cardinalate  ;  but  he  had  never  taken  holy  orders  and 
was  able,  therefore,  to  renounce  his  ecclesiastical 
dignities  and  to  marry  the  beautiful  Maria  Teresa 
de  Vallabriga.  He  was  compelled,  at  the  same  time, 
to  renounce  all  right  of  succession  to  the  throne, 
and  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  in  a  kind  of  banishment 
at  Saragossa.  His  only  son  entered  the  Church ;  his 
elder  daughter  bore  the  title  of  countess  of  Chinchon 
and  was  now  seventeen  years  old.  Her  royal  uncle 
signified  his  intention  to  bestow  her  hand  upon  the 
Prince  of  the  Peace. 

His  highness,  the  husband  in  all  but  form  of  Pepita 
Tudo,  dared  not  refuse  the  gift.  Apparently  he 
made  some  effort  to  do  so,  for  he  asserts  that  he 
bowed  only  to  the  absolute  and  express  command  of 
the  king.  ''  Charles  IV.,"  says  the  unwilling  bride- 
groom, "  gave  directions  for  the  nuptials  in  such  a 
manner  that,  at  the  moment  the  marriage  was  forced 
upon  me,  the  Council  received  the  official  notification 
through  a  special  decree.  I  obeyed  in  this,  as  in  all 
the  acts  of  my  life,  with  loyalty  and  submission." 
He  goes  on  to  deny  the  allegation  that,  in  obeying, 
he  broke  sacred  ties.  The  ties  were  not,  perhaps,  those 
which  his  enemies  suspected,  but  he  should  have 
held  them  sacred  all  the  same.  But  he  was  formally 
married  in  September  1797  to  Maria  Teresa  de 
Vallabriga,  to  whom  and  to  her  brother  and  sister 
the  king  conceded  at  the  same  time  the  right  to 
bear  the  name  and  the  arms  of  their  father. 

The  match,  we  can  well  believe,  was  not  one  that 
inspired    Godoy's    ambition.     In    fact,    the     bride's 

7 


io8  Godoy  :  the  Queen's  Favourite 

family  benefited  by  it  more  than  he.  He  obtained 
leave  to  transport  the  remains  of  Don  Luis  to  the 
tomb  of  his  ancestors  in  the  Escurial,  and  he  afterwards 
procured  the  archbishopric  of  Toledo  for  his  brother- 
in-law  and  for  his  wife's  sister,  Dona  Maria  Luisa, 
who  had  no  fortune,  a  pension  of  50,000  francs  a 
year.  His  kindness  was  acknowledged  in  a  letter 
from  the  archbishop  couched  in  very  affectionate 
terms. 

This  left-handed  alliance  with  the  royal  family  for 
a  while  disconcerted  the  enemies  of  the  Prince  of 
the  Peace  at  home  and  abroad.  Upon  the  advice 
of  Cabarrus,  he  wisely  strengthened  his  position 
still  further  by  calling  to  the  ministry  two  of  the 
most  respected  men  in  Spain.  One  of  them,  Don 
Francisco  Saavedra,  did  not  altogether  deserve  his 
high  reputation.  He  was  a  man  of  vast  experience 
indeed,  and  of  remarkable  quickness  of  perception  ; 
but  the  feebleness  of  his  body  seemed  reflected  in  the 
weakness  and  irresolution  of  his  character.  To  him 
was  entrusted  the  department  of  finance.  A  much 
greater  man  was  his  colleague,  Don  Gaspar  Melchor 
Jovellanos,  who  accepted  the  ministry  of  justice  on 
November  21,  1797.  He  was  an  upright  judge  and 
an  accomplished  man  of  letters  who  had  suffered  a 
good  deal  of  persecution. 

Blanco  White  says  of  him  :  "  With  all  the  virtues 
and  agreeable  qualities  of  the  old  Spanish  caballero, 
he  exhibits  many  of  the  prejudices  peculiar  to  the 
period  to  which  he  belongs.  To  the  most  passionate 
attachment  to  the  privileges  and  aristocracy  of  blood, 
he  joins  a  superstitious  reverence  for  external  forms." 
He  had  also  an  exaggerated  attachment  to  the  people 


The  Alliance  with  the  Regicides  109 

of  his  native  province,  Asturias.  These  predilections 
warped  his  fine  understanding.  He  was  firm  and  stiff, 
rather  disposed  to  preach,  somewhat  of  a  pedant. 
Those  who  knew  him  understood  why  Aristides  was 
banished,  and  were  not  surprised  that  he  met  the 
same  fate.  On  one  occasion  he  refused  to  appoint 
one  of  the  queen's  proteges  to  some  professorial  chair, 
for  the  excellent  reason  that  he  had  no  academical 
training.  "  And  where  were  you  educated  ?  "  asked 
the  queen.  "  At  Salamanca."  "  It  is  a  pity,"  sneered 
her  majesty,  "  that  manners  formed  no  part  of  the 
curriculum." 

She  might  with  more  reason  have  regretted  that 
gratitude  did  not.  "  These  two  men,"  says  General 
Arteche,  "  devoted  themselves,  though  with  extreme 
repugnance,  to  the  arduous  and  perilous  but  patriotic 
task  of  undermining  that  colossal  power  founded  on 
the  queen's  passions  and  the  king's  blindness,"  with 
which  they  had  agreed  to  work  and  co-operate. 
Jovellanos,  franker  than  his  colleague,  was  with 
difficulty  dissuaded  by  him  from  addressing  a  grave 
remonstrance  to  Godoy  on  the  subject  of  his  relations 
with  the  queen.  By  themselves  these  two  pedants 
would  have  been  unable  to  dethrone  the  man  who 
had  called  them  to  the  ministry ;  but  they  were 
assisted  by  the  enemies  of  Spain. 

While  a  powerful  English  party,  headed  by  the 
duke  of  Osuna,  was  working  for  his  destruction, 
Godoy  became  more  and  more  suspicious  of  his  ally. 
The  renewed  attacks  upon  the  Roman  pontiff  ex- 
hausted his  patience.  On  January  15,  1798,  he 
wrote  to  Del  Campo  at  Paris :  "  The  king  orders  you 
to  require   a   categorical   reply  from   the   Directory, 


no  Godoy  :   the  Queen's  Favourite 

as  her  friend  and  ally,  Spain,  has  a  right  to  demand ; 
and,  without  discussing  other  matters,  asks  the  French 
Government  to  state  its  intentions  towards  Rome, 
whether  the  temporal  dominion  of  the  Pope  is  to  con- 
tinue, what  extension  is  to  be  given  to  the  dominions 
of  the  duke  of  Parma,  or  of  the  king  of  Naples, 
what  is  to  be  done  with  Genoa  and  the  Cisalpine 
Republic,  if  there  are  to  be  in  Italy  any  more  govern- 
ments than  those  of  Naples,  Sardinia,  Florence, 
Parma,  the  Holy  See,  and  the  Cisalpine  and  Ligurian 
Republics.  In  the  confidence  existing  between  our 
governments,  there  should  be  no  difficulty  in  getting 
an  answer  on  all  these  points." 

By  way  of  reply  the  Directors  sent  a  new  repre- 
sentative to  Madrid  with  secret  instructions  to  get  rid 
of  this  arrogant  Spaniard.  This  ambassador  was  the 
former  minister  of  marine,  Truguet,  "  a  handsome 
young  man,  elegant,  polite,  and  loquacious,"  who 
would  stick  at  nothing.  By  Cabarrus,  whom  the 
Directory  had  refused  to  accept  as  Spanish  ambassador 
at  Paris,  Godoy  was  warned  of  his  real  intentions. 
In  presenting  his  credentials  to  King  Charles,  the 
envoy  referred  to  the  virtues  of  his  majesty  and  the 
abilities  of  his  Prime  Minister  as  the  guarantee  of 
the  alliance ;  but  he  went  on  to  denounce  the  traitors 
harboured  by  Spain,  and  hoped  that  his  majesty  would 
make  an  example  of  those  pointed  out  to  him.  The 
allusion,  of  course,  was  to  the  unfortunate  royalist 
emigres  and  to  the  members  of  the  party  lately  over- 
thrown at  Paris  who  had  sought  refuge  in  Spain. 

As  Godoy  stubbornly  refused  to  do  more  than 
expel  those  exiles  who  were  actually  conspiring 
against  the  republic,  Truguet  sought  a  private  audience 


The  Alliance  with  the  Regicides  m 

of  the  king  and  urged  him  to  pave  the  way  to  a  better 
understanding  with  his  ally  by  dismissing  his  minister. 
His,  majesty  refused  :  *'  It  might  be  thought,"  he 
pointed  out,  "  that  the  Directory,  being  less  favour- 
ably disposed  towards  Spain  than  had  been  presumed, 
was  desirous,  in  remembrance  of  the  events  of  the  4th 
of  Fructidor,  to  arraign  and  condemn  the  minister  in 
whom  his  majesty  reposed  the  fullest  confidence." 

Thus  rebuffed,  Truguet  addressed  himself  to 
Saavedra,  of  whom  he  quickly  made  an  ally.  Godoy 
was  attacked  from  all  points  at  once.  The  English 
party  demanded  his  downfall  as  the  author  of  the 
alliance  with  France ;  the  French,  because  he  upheld 
the  dignity  of  his  country;  the  rich,  because  he 
taxed  them  ;  the  clergy,  because  he  did  not  fear  them ; 
the  people,  because  the  squires  and  parsons  told  them 
he  was  their  enemy.  The  prince  ignored  these 
attacks,  and  ordered  the  fleet  to  get  ready  to  co- 
operate with  the  French  in  the  invasion  of  Ireland. 
His  unseen  foes  redoubled  their  efforts.  The  most 
insidious  reported  to  him  all  that  had  been  said  against 
him,  in  the  hope  that  he  might  alarm  the  king  by 
some  rash  act ;  but  he  kept  his  temper,  while  his 
master  feebly  wondered  whether,  after  all,  it  might 
not  be  better  to  part  with  Manuel. 

His  fears  were  worked  upon  by  Don  Jose  Antonio 
Caballero,  who  is  described  by  Godoy  as  *'  one  of 
those  students,  so  numerous  in  Spain,  who  took  all 
their  university  degrees  without  having  had  the 
opportunity  or  the  intention  of  opening  a  single 
learned  work.  .  .  .  His  figure  was  most  ungainly, 
corpulent,  short,  and  crooked ;  his  face  pale  and 
unmeaning."     He  was,  it  seems,  a  drunkard,  adulterer, 


ri2  Godoy :   the  Queen's  Favourite 

extortioner.  His  wife  endeavoured  to  keep  him  at 
home  that  others  might  not  see  him  in  "  a  beastly 
state."  "He  was  an  ill-intentioned  man,  a  ready 
tool  of  mischief  and  an  enemy  to  every  virtue,  without 
a  single  spark  of  honour  or  generosity." 

It  is  seldom  that  the  good-natured  Godoy  uses 
such  language  even  about  his  enemies,  but  it  is  echoed 
less  emphatically  by  disinterested  historians.  Cabal- 
lero  was  a  bitter  reactionary,  who  wished  to  plunge 
Spain  back  into  the  dark  ages.  Yet  he  allied  himself 
with  the  French  revolutionaries  now  as  readily  as  he 
did  in  after-years  with  the  invaders  of  his  country. 
He  had  managed  to  worm  himself  into  the  confidence 
of  Charles,  representing  the  minister  as  at  once  a 
dangerous  innovator  and  the  obstacle  in  the  way  of 
an  understanding  with  France. 

It  was  he  probably  who  told  the  king  that  Godoy, 

in  inviting  Jovellanos  to  join  the  ministry,  had  used 

the  words,  "  Come  then,  my  friend,  and  take  your 

place    in    our    executive    directory."     Charles    was 

naturally  alarmed  by  this  use  of  a  word  which  had 

then   a   purely  republican  significance.     He  sent   for 

the  Prime  Minister  and  asked  him  if  he  could  refute 

this   allegation.     Godoy   sent   to   his   ofhce   and   laid 

the  draft  of  the  letter   before  his   master.     He  had 

used    the    expression,    "  our    monarchical    directory." 

He  besought  the  king  to  demand  the  original  from 

Jovellanos,  who   had   by  this   time   reached  Madrid. 

His  majesty  sulkily  refused,  and  acknowledged,  years 

afterwards,  that  he  had  not  been  altogether  satisfied 

by  his  favourite's  explanation. 

Maria  Luisa  seems  to  have  made  no  effort  to  save 
her  nominal  lover.     She  may  have  feared  war  with 


The  Alliance  with  the  Regicides         113 

France  more  than  she  cared  for  him.  More  pro- 
bably a  temporary  estrangement  between  them  had 
resulted  either  from  her  discovery  of  his  relations 
with  Pepita  or  from  the  marriage  she  had  herself 
helped  to  bring  about.  At  such  intervals  she  in- 
variably consoled  h^erself  with  a  new  lover,  and  she 
may  now  have  been  too  much  occupied  with  him 
to  concern  herself  about  the  fate  of  his  rival. 

Probably  by  the  express  command  of  the  king, 
Godoy  at  last  issued  a  decree  banishing  all  the  French 
exiles  who  elected  to  remain  in  the  Spanish  dominions 
to  the  island  of  Mallorca.  That  no  term  was  fixed 
for  compliance  with  this  order  was  no  doubt  due 
to  the  pertinacious  humanity  of  the  Prime  Minister. 
As  a  counterstroke,  he  revoked  on  his  own  responsi- 
bility the  sentence  of  exile  passed  in  the  previous 
reign  on  the  Spanish  members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
thus  permitting  "  many  venerable  old  men,  who  had 
lost  all  hope  of  ever  again  seeing  their  country,  to  be 
restored  to  their  families  and  to  enjoy  in  peace  the 
sweets  of  domestic  happiness."  The  exasperated 
French  ambassador  pressed  his  confederates  hard. 
This  pestilent  prince  must  be  got  rid  of. 

At  the  Council  on  March  28,  1798,  Saavedra  pro- 
posed to  disband  a  part  of  the  army  to  relieve  the 
overburdened  Treasury.  Godoy  sprung  to  oppose 
this  measure,  pointing  out  that  the  English  might 
land  in  Portugal,  and  the  French  demand  a  passage 
through  Spain  to  attack  them.  *'  Let  us,"  he  cried, 
"  exercise  our  troops  without  intermission,  let  us 
inure  them  to  hardships."  He  went  on  to  urge  the 
importance  of  the  camps  of  instruction  which  he 
had   formed   at    Algeciras    and    on    the    Portuguese 


114  Godoy:  the  Queen*s  Favourite 

frontier.  The  king  had  been  prejudiced  against 
these,  as  innovations,  by  Caballero.  "  No,"  he  inter- 
rupted, "  these  camps  are  of  no  avail." 

The  Prince  of  the  Peace  sank  back  in  his  chair, 
silent.  The  Council  broke  up.  The  minister  hast- 
ened to  the  king  and  asked,  not  for  the  first  time,  to 
be  relieved  of  his  portfolio.  Frightened  by  France, 
egged  on  by  Saavedra,  his  majesty  tearfully  assented. 
He  drew  from  his  pocket  a  paper  in  the  handwriting 
of  Caballero.  It  was  thus  worded :  **  Yielding  to 
your  repeated  verbal  and  written  solicitations  to  be 
relieved  from  the  office  of  secretary  of  State  and 
sergeant-major  of  my  bodyguard,  I  relieve  you  from 
the  duties  of  these  offices ;  I  appoint  ad  interim 
Don  Francisco  de  Saavedra  to  the  former,  and  the 
Marquis  de  Ruchena  to  the  latter,  to  whom  you  will 
give  up  all  that  pertains  to  these  offices.  You  shall 
continue  to  enjoy  all  the  honours,  allowances,  emolu- 
ments, and  right  of  access  to  the  court  that  you  now 
hold  ;  and  I  assure  you  that  I  am  in  the  highest 
degree  satisfied  with  the  proofs  of  affection,  zeal,  and 
capacity  which  you  have  given  me  during  your 
ministry  ;  for  these  I  shall  be  grateful  so  long  as  I 
live,  and  at  every  opportunity  I  will  give  you  un- 
equivocal proofs  of   my  gratitude  for  your  singular 


services." 


This  decree  was  dated  March  28,  1798.  Godoy 
shook  his  master  by  the  hand,  well  aware  that  his 
was  not  the  hand  that  had  struck  the  blow.  He  had 
not  feared  France  as  an  enemy ;  he  had  sought  her 
as  an  ally  ;  he  would  not  accept  her  as  a  mistress. 
His  fall  became  him  better  than  his  rise.  He  im- 
mediately went  to  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  State. 


The  Alliance  with  the  Regicides  115 

He  embraced  his  successor,  handed  him  the  keys  and 
papers,  and  returned  home  accompanied  by  a  numerous 
retinue  of  sympathisers.  "  They  had  shown,"  he 
says,  **  less  eagerness  to  hail  my  rising  fortune  than 
to  testify  their  regret  at  my  disgrace." 


CHAPTER  VII 

GODOY    IN    THE    BACKGROUND 

Now  the  pilot  had  been  driven  from  the  helm,  the 
Spanish  ship  of  state  was  towed  by  France.  Truguet 
found  in  Saavedra  and  Jovellanos  docile  instruments. 
The  markets  of  Spain  were,  at  his  instigation,  closed 
to  British  goods ;  the  decree  against  the  emigres 
was  put  into  immediate  execution  ;  the  due  d'Havre, 
the  agent  of  the  French  princes,  was  expelled,  and 
the  due  de  Saint-Simon,  a  French  officer  old  in  the 
Spanish  service,  was  deprived  of  his  offices.  Strongly 
anti-clerical  in  sentiment,  the  new  ministers  enforced 
the  order  of  expulsion  with  especial  severity  against 
refugee  priests.  These  were  shipped  off  in  such 
numbers  to  Mallorca  that  the  islanders  refused  at 
length  to  receive  them.  The  most  catholic  king 
dared  not  resist  the  behests  of  his  Infidel  ally.  But 
he  was  not  willing  to  declare  war  against  his  son-in- 
law  of  Lisbon.  To  overcome  his  resistance,  Truguet 
laid  siege  to  the  heart  of  the  infanta  Maria  Lulsa — a 
conquest  which  he  hoped  "  might  be  to  the  interest 
of  the  republic." 

The  Directory  thought  that  the  fallen  minister's 
influence  might,  after  all,  be  more  useful  to  them. 
They  sent  a  secret  agent,  named  Segui,  to  invite  him 
to  persuade  the  court  of  Lisbon  to  abandon  the 
English  alliance.     Truguet  detected  this  intrigue  and 

1X6 


Godoy  in  the  Background  117 

protested  to  his  employers.  He  was  promptly  recalled, 
but  would  only  deliver  up  the  embassy  to  his  successor 
under  the  threat  of  being  treated  as  an  emigre.  He 
skulked  for  some  time  on  the  frontier,  and,  on  setting 
foot  in  France,  was  arrested.  He  was  finally  exiled 
to  Holland. 

Godoy,  meanwhile,  came  and  went  at  the  palace, 
minutely  informed  as  to  all  the  proceedings  of  the 
new  Government.  Charles,  it  is  said,  in  a  passing 
mood  of  anger  with  his  favourite,  offered  to  banish 
him  from  court.  Saavedra  rejected  the  proposal, 
let  us  hope,  as  much  from  motives  of  gratitude  as 
from  prudence.  The  prince  had,  in  reality,  lost 
nothing  of  his  influence  over  the  king,  and  the  queen 
he  could  always  bring  to  her  knees  when  he  felt 
disposed  to  play  the  lover. 

He  regularly  corresponded  with  the  royal  couple 
while  absent  from  the  court.  His  letters  strike  us 
as  fawning  and  Uriah  Heep-ish ;  but  such  a  tone 
must  have  seemed  quite  proper  and  natural  to  a 
Spaniard  at  that  time  addressing  one  of  the  Two 
Majesties  (the  other  was  God).  "  Lady,"  writes  the 
fallen  minister  to  her  majesty,  "  a  man  persecuted  by 
envy  and  abhorred  by  the  unjust  may  not  repose 
where  their  shafts  may  reach  him.  I  know  what 
those  who  have  obeyed  and  feared  me  speak  and  think 
of  me,  I  know  the  degree  of  authority  to  which  they 
have  attained  ;  will  my  pretension,  then,  be  indis- 
creet ?  I  am  well  content ;  solitude  and  ruined 
walls  are  agreeable  to  me  ;  I  ask  nothing  from  vio- 
lence, I  wish  nothing  to  be  disturbed  on  my  account ; 
so  if  your  majesty  knows  what  I  ought  to  do,  and 
has  any  sentiment  of    good-will  towards  me,  speak 


II 8  Godoy:  the  Queen*s  Favourite 

and  I  will  obey.  Manuel  will  not  act  otherwise — 
Manuel  who  has  given  so  many  moments  of  pleasure 
to  your  majesties,  will  never  give  you  an  instant's 
distress  and  will  ever  be  the  same  faithful  and  grateful 
vassal.'* 

A  month  later — -that  is,  on  October  29,  1798 — 
he  writes  to  the  king ;  "  Your  majesty  be  thanked  : 
you  remember  and  respect  your  poor  yassal.  My 
lord,  what  a  reward  do  you  not  give  me  by  your 
virtuous  consideration  1  Yes,  God  will  reward  your 
majesty  as  you  dispense  to  me  the  food  of  my  love 
and  devotion.  .  .  ."  These  rapturous  passages  are 
usually  the  prelude  to  a  discussion  of  the  political 
situation,  which  must  of  course  have  been  invited 
by  the  king. 

In  the  letter  quoted  by  Arteche  the  ex-minister 
confines  himself  almost  exclusively  to  advice  upon 
internal  policy,  very  sensibly  reminding  his  majesty 
that  the  continuance  of  the  war  with  Britain  need 
not  hinder  the  development  of  agriculture  and  indus- 
tries, and  urging,  as  ever,  the  necessity  of  military 
colleges  and  a  more  general  system  of  instruction  for 
the  army. 

Meanwhile  he  watched  the  attitude  of  his  suc- 
cessors with  contempt  and  apprehension.  He  had 
inaugurated  the  French  alliance,  it  was  true  ;  but 
it  was  not  he  who  had  converted  that  alliance  into 
bondage.  Within  a  few  weeks  of  his  dismissal  he 
was  recognised  as  the  leader  of  the  catholic  party, 
which  favoured  England.  To  his  banner  rallied  his 
old  enemy  Musquitz,  the  infante  of  Parma,  and  the 
duke  of  Osuna. 

The  reign  of  the  new  ministers  was  brief.     Saavedra, 


Godoy  in  the  Background  119 

prostrated  by  ill  health,  resigned  his  offices  one  by 
one,  and  was  finally  relieved  of  the  secretaryship  in 
February  1799,  eleven  months  after  the  fall  of  Godoy. 
His  colleague  Jovellanos  likewise  fell  ill  in  the  pre- 
ceding August,  and  threw  up  his  appointments. 
The  sickness  of  both  statesmen  was  attributed  to  the 
agency  of  Godoy  or  the  queen.  A  servant  of  Jovel- 
lanos is  said  to  have  been  bribed  with  ten  ounces  of 
gold  to  poison  his  master,  but  confessed  his  design 
before  it  was  too  late.  The  slander  is  absurd.  It 
was  warranted  by  nothing  in  Godoy's  character  or 
career  ;  and  the  queen  of  Spain  could  have  used  less 
dangerous  means  to  rid  herself  of  obnoxious  ministers. 

If  she  did  conspire  to  effect  their  downfall,  it  was 
not  in  the  Interest  of  Godoy.  Her  susceptible 
majesty  was  now  in  love  with  Saavedra's  under- 
secretary. This  was  Mariano  Luis  Urquijo,  a  native 
of  Bilbao,  a  handsome  fellow,  thirty  years  old.  He 
was  an  ardent  disciple  of  Voltaire,  and  a  deadly  enemy 
of  the  Catholic  Church.  Appointed  secretary  of 
legation  at  London,  he  always  received  official  visitors 
with  Tom  Paine's  "  Age  of  Reason "  ostentatiously 
displayed  on  the  table  before  him.  He  had  the  anti- 
clerical cause  so  close  at  heart  that,  on  hearing  of  the 
peace  of  Tolentino,  which  disappointed  his  hope  of 
seeing  the  final  destruction  of  the  Holy  See,  he  ran  a 
mile  along  the  Uxbridge  Road  and  threw  himself  into 
the  pond  in  Kensington  Gardens.  He  was  fished  out 
and  resuscitated  by  a  Dr.  Carlisle.  In  the  same 
year  he  returned  to  Madrid  and  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  chief  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of 
State. 

"  Every  Spanish  minister,"  Blanco  White  tells  us. 


120  Godoyi   the  Queen^s  Favourite 

"  has  a  day  apportioned  in  the  course  of  the  week — 
called  the  Dia  de  Des-pacho — when  he  lays  before  the 
king  the  contents  of  his  portfolio,  to  dispose  of  them 
according  to  his  majesty's  pleasure.  The  queen,  who 
is  excessively  fond  of  power,  never  fails  to  attend  on 
these  occasions.  The  minister,  during  this  audience, 
stands,  or,  if  desired,  sits  on  a  small  stool  placed 
between  him  and  the  king  and  queen.  The  love  of 
patronage,  not  of  business  is,  of  course,  the  object 
of  the  queen's  assiduity  ;  while  nothing  but  the  love 
of  gossip  enables  her  husband  to  endure  the  drudgery 
of  these  sittings. 

During  Saavedra's  ministry  his  majesty  was  highly 
delighted  with  the  premier's  powers  of  conversation 
and  his  inexhaustible  fund  of  good  stories.  The 
portfolio  was  laid  upon  the  table  ;  the  queen  men- 
tioned the  names  of  her  proteges,  and  the  king,  referring 
all  other  business  to  the  decision  of  the  minister,  began 
a  comfortable  chat  which  lasted  till  bedtime.  When 
Saavedra  was  taken  with  sudden  illness,  the  duty  of 
carrying  the  portfolio  to  the  king  devolved  upon  the 
under-secretary.  Urquijo's  handsome  person  and 
elegant  manners  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the 
queen  ;  and  ten  thousand  whispers  spread  the  im- 
portant news  the  next  morning  that  her  majesty  had 
desired  the  young  clerk  to  "  take  a  seat." 

This  seat  was  only  preparatory  to  one  in  the  cabinet. 
The  queen  persuaded  herself  that  she  was  in  love  with 
the  under-secretary  and  longed  to  show  the  arrogant 
Manuel  that  she  could  make  others  as  she  had  made 
him.  The  inopportune  recovery  of  Saavedra  upset 
her  plans  for  the  moment.  The  minister  perceived 
he  had  a  rival  in  his  subordinate,  and  got  the  king  to 


Godoy  in  the  Background  121 

name  him  his  representative  in  Holland.  Urquijo 
had  hardly  started,  however,  before  he  was  recalled. 
Saavedra  had  definitely  resigned,  and  Maria  Luisa 
at  once  suggested  the  under-secretary  as  his  successor. 
Charles  adopted  this  proposal,  chiefly  to  humour  the 
French,  to  whom  he  knew  Urquijo's  views  would  be 
acceptable. 

The  young  statesman  fell  in  rather  reluctantly 
with  these  schemes  for  his  own  aggrandisement.  He 
knew  that  he  was  expected,  in  return,  to  make  love  to 
her  majesty,  who,  as  her  husband  did  not  hesitate  to 
tell  her,  had  become  desperately  old  and  ugly.  More- 
over, Urquijo  already  had  a  mistress,  and  she  was 
no  other  than  Antonia,  marquesa  de  Branciforte, 
the  sister  of  Godoy.  Ambition  in  the  long  run 
overcame  both  aversion  and  loyalty.  With  shut  eyes 
Urquijo  swallowed  the  bait  at  a  gulp,  and  was  desig- 
nated on  February  21,  1799,  as  acting  first  secretary 
of  State. 

This  new  appointment  at  first  gave  considerable 
satisfaction  to  the  predominant  partner.  "  The  views 
of  M.  Urquijo  on  the  liberties  of  the  church  of  Spain 
and  the  abuse  of  papal  authority  are  infinitely  sound," 
wrote  Alquier,  the  new  French  ambassador  ;  but  his 
views  as  to  the  liberties  of  the  Spanish  State  and  the 
abuses  of  its  ally's  authority  proved  to  be  equally 
firmly  rooted.  The  Directory  did  not  want  another 
Godoy  at  Madrid.  Alquier  intimated  to  King 
Charles  that  the  French  Government  would  like  to 
see  Azara,  his  ambassador  in  Paris,  at  the  head  of 
the  ministry.  His  catholic  majesty,  with  more  dignity 
than  was  his  wont,  indignantly  repudiated  the  right 
of  his  ally  to  interfere  in  his  choice  of  ministers.     He 


122  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

had  not,  strangely  enough,  dared  as  much  to  save 
Godoy,  which  rather  encourages  the  belief  that  now 
he  was  backed  by  his  wife  and  that  then  he  was  not. 

In  June  the  administration  which  thus  attempted 
to  dictate  to  its  neighbours  was  no  more.  Whatever 
hopes  Charles  may  have  cherished  of  being  called  to 
the  throne  of  France  were  revived  by  the  resignation 
of  the  Directory ;  they  were  speedily  dashed  by  the 
events  of  the  loth  of  Brumaire  and  the  assumption 
of  the  government  of  France  by  the  great  soldier 
who  was  to  tear  the  crown  from  off  his  brov/. 

In  his  enthusiastic  admiration  for  the  First  Consul, 
the  Spanish  king  forgot  his  disappointment.  "  At 
the  court  and  in  the  ministry,"  wrote  the  French 
ambassadors,  "  general  satisfaction  is  expressed.  Per- 
haps it  is  thought  that  this  change  in  our  government 
is  part  of  a  scheme  to  restore  tranquillity  to  Europe  ; 
for  Spain  has  imperious  need  of  peace."  Peace,  how- 
ever, she  was  not  to  enjoy  for  many  years  to  come. 
If  war  at  the  bidding  of  the  Directory  was  tolerable 
by  Charles,  how  much  more  was  it  tolerable  in  con- 
junction with  his  favourite  hero !  Here  was  no 
longer  an  alliance  with  the  regicides,  but  with  the 
young  conqueror  who  had  rescued  the  realm  of 
St.  Louis  from  their  blood-stained  hands. 

The  Tsar  had  declared  war  against  Charles  because 
he  had  refused  to  join  the  coalition  against  France. 
Bonaparte  recognised,  as  he  had  done  in  Italy,  the 
value  of  the  republic's  only  independent  ally.  King 
and  First  Consul  vied  with  each  other  in  the  exchange 
of  courtiers.  Musquitz,  Azara's  successor  at  the 
Legation  in  Paris,  was  ordered  by  Charles  to  entertain 
Mme  Bonaparte  at  a  banquet. 


URQUIJO. 

Goya) 


123 


Godoy  in  the  Background  125 

The  Consul,  rightly  accounting  Godoy  to  be  still 
one  of  the  powers  in  Spain,  sent  him  a  magnificent 
suit  of  damascened  armour  in  token  of  his  esteem. 
This  present  was  the  one  topic  of  conversation  in 
Madrid.  Charles  wanted  to  know  why  he  had  been 
forgotten  ;  Maria  Luisa  asked  whether  the  Consul 
proposed  to  send  her  anything.  Her  majesty  presently 
received  a  superb  breakfast-service  and  an  exquisite 
costume  of  muslin  embroidered  by  the  most  skilful 
hands  in  Paris.-  Urquijo,  as  Prime  Minister,  could 
not  well  be  forgotten;  in  his  character  of  an  austere 
philosopher,  he  selected  as  his  presents  a  Bible  and  a 
Vergil  printed  by  Didot,  to  which  was  incongruously 
added  by  the  Consul  a  case  of  pistols. 

Charles,  without  waiting  for  the  arms  promised  him, 
sent  his  new  ally  sixteen  of  his  most  beautiful  horses, 
each  worth  two  to  three  hundred  pounds.  This 
princely  gift  was  despatched  in  charge  of  a  veterinary 
surgeon,  a  deputy  master  of  the  horse,  and  twenty- 
four  grooms,  all  wearing  the  Spanish  arms.  His 
majesty  expressed  his  desire  that  the  members  of  the 
escort  should  be  given  every  facility  for  assisting  at 
mass  while  traversing  French  territory.  Bonaparte 
gave  immediate  orders  to  this  effect.  "  Ah,"  said  the 
gratified  monarch,  "  I  recognise  there  the  act  of  the 
First  Consul !  I  know  that  he  is  a  catholic,  like  me, 
and  rejoice  that  we  are  of  the  same  religion."  In  his 
delight  his  majesty  commissioned  David  to  execute 
for  him  a  life-size  portrait  of  his  new  friend.  The 
horses  were  received  by  the  Consul  with  every  sign  of 
pleasure  and  gratitude ;  but  he  kept  poor  Charles 
waiting  for  his  guns  till  May  1802. 

By  that  time  Spain  had  paid  a  long  price  for  the 
8 


126  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

gift  to  her  sovereign.  The  new  ruler  of  France 
expressed  his  desire  to  augment  the  dignity  of  his  good 
ally's  cousin,  the  young  prince  of  Parma.  Charles 
and  Maria  Luisa  listened  rapturously  to  the  tempter. 
General  Berthier  was  sent,  with  a  great  flourish  of 
trumpets,  to  Madrid  to  arrange  matters  to  the  liking 
of  his  catholic  majesty.  On  October  I,  1800,  a  treaty 
marked  "  preliminary  and  secret  "  was  drawn  up  at 
San  Ildefonso.  By  the  first  and  second  articles  the 
First  Consul  bound  himself  to  carve  out  of  Tuscany 
and  the  Roman  Legations  a  kingdom  of  not  less  than 
one  million  inhabitants  for  the  prince ;  but,  in  return, 
Spain  had  to  make  her  neighbour  a  present  of  six 
line-of-battle  ships  and  to  surrender  the  whole  of  the 
vast  province  of  Louisiana,  which  she  had  acquired 
from  France  forty  years  before.  Spain  had  thus  to 
pay  with  an  enormous  slice  of  her  empire  for  the 
aggrandisement  of  her  sovereign's  family. 

This  treaty  was  signed  by  Urquijo,  probably  very 
much  against  his  will.  He  was  a  good  friend  of  the 
French  republic,  but  he  distrusted  General  Bona- 
parte. He  had  already  refused  to  send  troops  to 
besiege  Malta  and  ships  to  raise  the  blockade  of  the 
Egyptian  ports.  The  First  Consul  knew  him  for  a 
foe,  and  paid  court,  as  we  know,  to  Godoy. 

Urquijo  meanwhile  pursued  the  same  policy  as 
his  rival,  but  with  infinitely  less  tact  and  no  success. 
His  hatred  of  the  Church  carried  him  altogether 
beyond  the  pale  of  his  countrymen's  sympathies. 
He  aimed  at  emancipating  the  Spanish  hierarchy 
from  the  control  of  Rome,  and  ordered  the  trans- 
lation of  a  Portuguese  work  by  Pereira  exposing  the 
exactions   and   abuses   of   the  papal   chancery.     This 


Godoy  in  the  Background  127 

provoked  a  strongly  worded  remonstrance  from 
Casoni,  the  nuncio.  The  minister,  backed  hy  the 
French  ambassador,  handed  him  his  passports.  The 
indignant  cleric  invoked  the  good  offices  of  Godoy, 
who,  as  he  tells  us,  without  in  the  least  impugning 
the  policy  of  the  Government,  persuaded  the  king 
to  revoke  the  order  of  dismissal. 

This  incident  did  not  teach  Urquijo  wisdom.  He 
continued  his  anti-clerical  campaign,  although  both 
the  catholic  and  the  French  factions  had  now  combined 
to  overthrow  him.  The  marquises  of  Solis,  of  Villa 
Lopez,  of  Casares,  and  of  Santiago  openly  laboured  to 
secure  the  return  of  Godoy  to  the  ministry.  Yet  on 
October  7,  1800,  the  Prime  Minister  foolishly  allowed 
his  rival  to  appear  at  court  and  to  have  a  long  audience 
of  Charles  on  the  occasion  of  the  birth  of  his  only 
daughter,  Carlota  Luisa.  The  queen  stood  sponsor 
to  the  child,  and  the  ceremony  of  baptism  was  con- 
ducted with  a  splendour  befitting  a  princess.  The 
little  girl  was,  it  is  true,  the  great-granddaughter 
of  a  king.  It  was  plain  to  everybody,  except  to 
Urquijo,  that  Maria  Luisa  was  returning  to  her  old 
love. 

She  had  never  been  able  to  secure  even  the  lip- 
worship  of  her  last-created  minister.  Whether  he 
had  remained  true  to  the  sister  of  his  rival,  or,  like 
him,  had  divided  his  affection  between  many  women, 
he  had  utterly  failed  to  convince  the  queen  of  his 
devotion.  Still  incensed  against  Godoy,  her  majesty 
looked  out  for  yet  another  lover  in  that  nursery  of 
royal  favourites,  the  royal  guard.  This  time  the 
handkerchief  was  thrown  to  a  South  American  named 
Mallo,  a  personage  who  seems  to  have  been  little  more 


128  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

than  a  proper  noun.  He  was  presumably  pleasing 
in  form  and  feature,  but  of  his  character  we  know 
nothing ;  still,  in  their  affected  zeal  for  morality, 
historians  have  bespattered  him  with  every  contemp- 
tuous epithet  in  their  respective  languages.  He  was, 
we  are  told,  a  coxcomb,  an  absurd,  vain  fop,  an  idiot, 
un  jeune  fat  sans  intelligence  .  .  .  absolument  nul. 
Godoy  himself  could  not  have  used  him  more 
harshly. 

Her  majesty  repaid  the  homage  of  her  new  swain 
so  well  that  presently  every  one  noticed  his  apparent 
wealth  and  prosperity.  One  day  the  king  observed 
him  driving  up  to  the  palace  in  a  brilliant  equipage 
drawn  by  four  superb  horses.  Charles  turned  to 
Godoy  :  "  Who  is  this  Mallo  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Every 
day  I  see  him  with  a  new  turn-out.  Where  does  he 
get  his  money  ?  "  "  Sire,"  replied  the  ex-minister, 
glancing  with  a  bitter  smile  towards  the  queen, 
"  Mallo  has  not  a  penny  of  his  own  ;  but  they  say 
he  is  kept  by  some  toothless  old  woman  who  robs 
her  husband  to  enrich  her  lover."  The  king  chuckled 
and  turned  to  his  wife.  "  Do  you  hear  that,  Luisa  ? 
what  do  you  think  of  that,  eh  ?  "  "  Oh,  it  is  probably 
one  of  Manuel's  jokes,"  replied  her  majesty,  with  a 
wry  smile. 

It  was  a  joke  that  she  was  forced  to  forgive.  Says 
Blanco  White  :  "  Mallo's  day  of  prosperity  was  but 
short.  His  vanity,  coxcombry,  and  folly  displeased 
the  king  and  alarmed  the  queen ;  but  in  the  first 
ardour  of  her  attachments  she  generally  had  the 
weakness  of  committing  her  feelings  to  writing.  Mallo 
possessed  a  collection  of  her  letters.  Wishing  to  rid 
herself  of  that  absurd,  vain  fop,  and  yet  dreading  an 


Godoy  in  the  Background  129 

exposure,  she  employed  Godoy  in  the  recovery  of 
her  written  tokens.  Mallo's  house  was  surrounded 
with  soldiers  in  the  dead  of  night,  and  he  was  forced 
to  yield  the  precious  manuscripts  into  the  hands  of 
his  rival.  The  latter,  however,  was  too  well  aware 
of  their  value  to  deliver  them  to  the  writer  ;  and  he 
is  said  to  have  kept  them  as  a  powerful  charm,  if  not 
to  secure  his  mistress's  affection,  at  least  to  subdue 
her  fits  of  fickleness  and  jealousy.  Mallo  was  soon 
banished  and  forgotten." 

However  episodical,  this  "  absurd,  vain  fop,"  by 
supplanting  Urquijo  in  the  queen's  regard,  had  de- 
prived him  of  the  only  friend  capable  of  withstanding 
the  forces  now  massed  ao;ainst  him.  He  had  infuri- 
ated  Bonaparte  by  ordering  Mazarredo,  the  admiral 
commanding  the  Spanish  fleet  now  locked  up  in 
Brest  harbour  by  the  English,  to  force  the  blockade 
and  to  concentrate  his  ships  at  Cadiz.  This  plan 
was  so  contrary  to  the  designs  of  the  First  Consul 
that  he  resolved  to  send  an  ambassador  to  Madrid 
whose  remonstrances  must  be  listened  to  as  com- 
mands. He  made  choice  of  his  brother  Lucien. 
In  this  appointment  Godoy  saw  a  deliberate  attempt 
to  overawe  the  court  of  the  catholic  king. 

On  November  17  he  wrote  to  the  queen  urging 
that  Azara  should  be  instructed  to  protest  against 
this  embassy  as  irregular  and  uncalled  for.  Urquijo 
acted  upon  his  rival's  advice  and  despatched  the 
note  of  protest  next  day;  but,  anticipating  such  an 
objection,  Lucien  hastened  on  his  journey,  left  his 
escort  at  Vittoria,  took  post,  and,  to  the  boundless 
surprise  of  the  court,  presented  himself  at  the  Escurial 
accompanied  by  a  single  servant. 


13°  Godoy:  the  Queen^s  Favourite 

Godoy  denies  that  this  ambassador's  arrival  brought 
about  the  downfall  of  Urquijo.  His  doom,  he  insists, 
was  sealed  by  a  letter  addressed  by  the  newly  elected 
Pope,  Pius  VII,,  to  the  king  complaining  of  the 
anti-clerical  policy  of  his  Government  and  adjuring 
his  majesty  to  banish  his  godless  advisers.  This 
admonition  frightened  Charles.  He  sent  for  Godoy 
and  told  him  that  he  could  not  and  would  not  coun- 
tenance the  policy  of  his  minister  any  longer.  He 
had  resolved  upon  dismissing  him.  It  only  remained 
for  Manuel  to  suggest  a  successor. 

The  prince  modestly  deprecated  any  such  inter- 
ference on  his  part,  but  at  last  proceeded  to  read 
out  from  the  ofhcial  almanac  a  list  of  noblemen  and 
statesmen  who  might  be  said  to  have  qualified  for 
high  office.  He  paused  significantly  at  the  name  of 
Azara.  "  No,"  said  the  king,  "  he  is  a  good  man, 
but  too  devoted  to  Bonaparte  ;  go  on."  "  Cuesta  ?  " 
*'  A  good  man,  too,  but  one  I  could  not  get  on  with." 
"  Ceballos  ?  "  "  Ah-ha  !  the  very  man  ;  what  think 
you  ?  " 

Godoy  reflected.  Ceballos,  when  secretary  of  the 
legation  at  Lisbon,  had  married  his  cousin,  Doiia 
Josefa  Alvarez  de  Faria  ;  he  had  advanced  him  ;^i8o 
on  that  occasion,  and  had  obtained  for  him  succes- 
sively the  posts  of  minister  at  Naples  and  counsellor 
of  the  Treasury.  "  A  good  man  indeed,"  he  replied 
at  length,  "  but  one  so  closely  associated  with  me 
that,  in  his  appointment,  the  public  would  see  my 
hand  and  believe  that  he  was  my  creature."  "  Pooh  !  " 
said  Charles,  "  the  public  know  that  I  am  king  in 
Spain — that  it  is  I  who  choose  my  ministers  and 
rule  through  them.     Ceballos  it  shall   be.'^     But   as 


Godoy  in  the  Background  131 

a  preliminary  step  Urquijo  was  abruptly  deprived  by 
royal  decree  of  his  authority  and  offices  and  ordered 
to  retire,  without  an  instant's  delay,  to  his  native 
province  of  Guipuzcoa,  there  to  attend  the  king's 
further  pleasure  concerning  him. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   WAR    OF   THE    ORANGE-TREES 

Ceballos   was    now    secretary  of    State,   and    Godoy 

might  use  him  as  a  mouthpiece  ;  but,  to  the  favourite's 

no   slight   annoyance,   Caballero   continued   in   ofhce. 

Godoy  marvels  why,  and  asks  how  such  a  man  could 

have    obtained    such    empire    over    the    king.     The 

explanation,   says  Major   Hume,   to   those  who  have 

studied  the  old  history  of  Spain  will  be  as  apparent 

as  that  of  the  rise  of  Godoy  himself.     "  It  was  the 

kernel    of     the    political    system    of    Charles    V.    and 

Philip  II.  to  have  for  Prime  Minister  a  man  of  the 

sovereign's  own  making,  and  to  give  him  colleagues  of 

violently  antagonistic  opinions ;    so  that  the  sovereign 

might  always   hold  the  balance."      Charles   IV.   was 

frightened   at   his   own   infatuation   for   Godoy,    and 

regarded  Caballero  as  a  check  upon  it. 

Godoy's  first  task  was  to  put  the  new  and  unwelcome 
ambassador  from  France  in  a  good  humour.  He 
succeeded  beyond  his  wildest  hopes.  Lucien  recog- 
nised in  the  Prince  of  the  Peace  a  good  fellow  and  a 
kindred  soul.  He  wrote  off  to  Paris  :  "  They  shower 
favours  on  me;  I  have  broken  through  the  barriers 
of  etiquette.  I  am  received  when  I  like  and  in 
private.  I  talk  business  with  the  king  and  the  queen. 
The  Prince  of  the  Peace,  far  from  being  alarmed,  is 
pleased."     Lucien,    also,    was    so    pleased    with    his 

132 


The  War  of  the  Orange^trees  133 

reception  at  Madrid,  so  immersed  in  the  pleasures 
carefully  provided  by  Godoy,  that  he  forgot  till  the 
eleventh  hour  to  remind  the  Spanish  Government  of 
his  brother's  desire  that  a  fleet  should  be  sent  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Nile.  The  Prince  of  the  Peace  promised 
to  look  into  the  matter ;  but,  before  the  vessels  were 
despatched,  the  French  army  in  Egypt  had  capitulated. 

The  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  San  Ildefonso  was 
not  to  be  put  off  after  the  traditional  Spanish  fashion. 
Charles  and  Maria  Luisa  were  anxious  to  secure  the 
kingdom  of  Etruria  for  the  young  prince  of  Parma, 
who  was  not  only  their  cousin  but  their  son-in-law. 
He  had  married  the  infanta  Maria  Luisa,  thanks  to 
the  intervention  of  Godoy,  who  had  noticed  that  he 
preferred  her  to  her  sister.  The  exchange  of  the 
vast  province  of  Louisiana  for  an  Italian  kingdom 
the  favourite,  on  the  whole,  approved.  The  colony 
was  separated  from  the  other  continental  Spanish 
possessions  by  vast  desert  tracts,  was  difficult  to 
defend  and  expensive  to  maintain,  and  in  the  hands 
of  France  might  prove  a  bulwark  against  the  further 
expansion  of  the  United  States  in  the  direction  of 
Mexico.  He  protested,  but  in  vain,  against  the 
cession,  in  addition,  of  the  duchy  of  Parma,  and  post- 
poned the  ratification  of  the  compact  till  a  clause  had 
been  inserted  in  the  treaty  of  Luneville,  agreed  between 
Bonaparte  and  the  empire  on  February  9,  1801, 
which  guaranteed  the  dispossessed  duke  compensation 
in  Germany. 

Having  made  the  best  terms  he  could  for  the 
father,  Godoy  packed  the  son  off  to  Paris  to  make 
his  bow  to  the  arbiter  of  Europe  and  to  cement  the 
bond  between  France  and  Spain.     The  young  princess 


134  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

was  a  little  alarmed  at  thus  putting  her  head  into  the 
lion's  jaws  ;  but  the  welcome  extended  by  the  French 
Government  and  people  soon  dispelled  her  fears. 

The  vanity  of  the  First  Consul  was  immensely 
tickled  at  this  spectacle  of  a  Bourbon  prince  coming 
to  Paris  to  receive  a  crown  from  the  head  of  the 
republic.  He  also  expected  that  the  visit  would  cure 
the  French  people  of  any  lingering  fondness  for  their 
old  royal  house.  The  newly  made  king  of  Etruria 
was  a  young  fool.  "  You  see,"  said  Bonaparte  de- 
lightedly, "  what  these  princes  are,  sprung  from  the 
old  blood,  and  especially  those  who  have  been  educated 
at  the  southern  courts.  How  can  we  entrust  them 
with  the  government  of  nations  ?  However,  there 
is  no  harm  in  having  exhibited  to  the  people  this 
specimen  of  the  Bourbons."  It  is  not  impossible  that 
the  infante's  incapacity  may  have  led  the  great  man 
to  question  his  father-in-law's  fitness  to  rule  ;  but  the 
royal  pair  were  dismissed  with  the  consular  benedic- 
tion, and  were  installed  at  Florence  on  August  12. 

At  peace  with  all  the  continental  Powers,  Bonaparte 
determined  to  deprive  England  of  her  only  ally  on 
the  mainland.  Portugal,  in  spite  of  treaties  made 
and  broken,  proposed  but  not  ratified,  persisted  in  her 
allegiance  to  the  mistress  of  the  seas.  The  little 
kingdom  could  only  be  reached  through  Spain. 
Lucien  was  charged  to  win  over  the  Prince  of  the 
Peace  and  to  overcome  the  king's  repugnance  to  an 
attack  on  his  neighbour.  France  asked  Spain  to  join 
her  in  an  attempt  to  bring  Portugal  to  reason  or  else 
to  stand  aside  and  let  her  do  the  work  alone.  An 
ally  could  not  fairly  refuse  both  alternatives.  It  was 
not  necessary,  as  has  been  absurdly  suggested,  to  bring 


The  War  of  the  Orange4rees  135 

pressure  or  cajolery  to  bear  upon  Godoy  to  adopt 
this  view,  and  Lucien,  his  crony  and  well-wisher,  was 
not  the  man  to  have  employed  such  means. 

The  proposal,  made  in  the  first  instance  to  Ceballos, 
was  referred  by  the  king  to  his  favourite.  Manuel 
unhesitatingly  replied  that  this  was  an  excellent 
opportunity  to  subdue  the  sister  kingdom,  "  to  make 
it  Spain's,  or  at  least  to  occupy  it  till  peace  was  made 
with  England  "  ;  and  that  it  would  be  far  better  for 
Spain  to  do  this  than  to  let  the  French  snatch  the 
prize  within  her  grasp.  This  opinion  was  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  that  given  by  Campomanes 
and  other  members  of  the  Council.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  as  to  its  wisdom. 

Charles  still  hesitated  to  attack  his  son-in-law.  He 
insisted  that  the  Portuguese  regent  should  first  be 
offered  every  reasonable  chance  of  breaking  off  the 
connection  with  England  ;  he  pleaded  want  of  money. 
Godoy  agreed  to  the  presentation  of  an  ultimatum, 
and  countered  the  objection  by  a  proposal  to  tax 
the  Church  for  the  expenses  of  the  campaign.  The 
clergy,  he  observed  slily,  ought  to  be  glad  to  pay  to 
keep  the  wicked  French  out  of  the  country. 

Charles  wrote  several  letters  personally  to  his 
daughter  and  her  husband,  beseeching  them  to  accede 
to  the  French  demands  while  there  yet  was  time. 
The  plucky  Portuguese  rejected  all  his  overtures  and 
stood  to  their  arms.  On  February  28,  1801,  war 
was  declared  between  Spain  and  Portugal.  Godoy, 
appointed  generalissimo  of  the  Spanish  forces,  fever- 
ishly hurried  on  his  preparations,  determined  that 
the  French  should  have  no  share  in  the  victory. 
The  army  had  been  left  in  a  deplorable  state  by  his 


1 36  Godoy  :   the  Queen^s  Favourite 

predecessors  in  power ;  as  late  as  the  preceding 
August  the  French  ambassador  had  called  attention 
to  its  desperate  inefficiency  ^  ;  yet  by  the  beginning 
of  May  the  Prince  of  the  Peace  had  concentrated 
a  force,  amounting  altogether  to  60,000  men,  along 
the  frontier  from  the  Minho  to  Algarve. 

On  the  14th  of  the  month  he  assumed  command  of 
the  main  army  of  30,000  men  stationed  at  his  native 
city  of  Badajoz.  The  campaign  that  followed  was 
short  and  creditable  to  Spain.  On  the  20th  the 
frontier  fortresses  of  Olivenza  and  Juromenha  capi- 
tulated. The  Spaniards  advanced  to  the  assault  of 
Elvas,  the  strongest  place  in  Portugal.  In  the  gardens 
or  on  the  glacis,  a  light  infantryman  intrepidly 
plucked  a  branch  from  an  orange-tree  under  the 
enemies'  guns.  The  trophy  was  presented  by  the 
generalissimo  to  Maria  Luisa,  who  reviewed  the  troops 
at  Badajoz  clad  in  a  semi-military  uniform.  The 
incident  has  been  made  the  subject  of  ridicule  by 
the  enemies  of  Godoy,  I  don't  know  on  what  grounds. 
Any  object  snatched  under  the  guns  of  the  enemy 
may  be  at  once  a  proof  of  valour  and  a  pledge  of 
future  victory.  Elvas  was  closely  besieged ;  on 
May  29  the  Portuguese  were  defeated  at  Arronches  ; 
on  June  6  Campomajor  capitulated,  and  the  court 
of  Lisbon  solicited  a  peace. 

For  the  first  time  for  centuries  the  Spaniards  had 
beaten  their  next-door  neighbours  in  a  stand-up 
light  and  wiped  out  a  long  tale  of  defeats  and  insult. 

^  M.  de  Grandmaison,  who  quotes  this  despatch,  condemns  Godoy 
for  the  tardiness  of  his  preparations.  A  military  writer,  General 
Arteche,  praises  him  for  the  rapidity  with  which  the  mobilisation  was 
effected. 


The  War  of  the  Orange<trccs  i37 

The  Garde  de  Corps,  who  had  so  far  done  military 
duty  only  in  the  lobbies  of  the  palace,  had  proved 
himself  a  soldier  and  a  captain.  He  had  also  proved  him- 
self a  statesman,  for  he  had  brought  the  campaign 
to  this  happy  conclusion  without  the  help  of  a  single 
French  battalion  and  shown  Bonaparte  that  Spain 
could  do  without  her  ally. 

By  the  time  8,000  French  troops  had  been  assembled 
at  Ciudad  Rodrigo  and  before  Gouvion  Saint-Cyr  had 
arrived  at  Madrid  to  claim  the  supreme  command 
of  the  allied  army  on  behalf  of  the  First  Consul,  the 
plenipotentiaries  of  Spain  and  Portugal  had  met  to 
settle  the  terms  of  peace  at  Badajoz.  Portugal  bound 
herself  to  close  her  ports  against  English  shipping 
'and  ceded  to  Spain  the  important  town  of  Olivenza 
with  the  territory  adjoining.  This  treaty  bears  the 
date  July  6.  On  the  same  day  Lucien  Bonaparte, 
on  behalf  of  the  French  Government,  accepted  an 
indemnity  of  20,000,000  francs  and  the  closing 
of  her  ports  against  England  as  Portugal's  price  of 
peacef. 

The  rage  of  Napoleon  knew  no  bounds  when  news 
reached  him  of  the  conclusion  of  the  war.  He  desired 
nothing  less  than  the  occupation  of  Lisbon  and  Oporto. 
He  was  at  that  moment  in  negotiation  with  England, 
and  felt  that  those  cities  would  have  been  trump 
cards  in  his  hands.  He  sent  couriers  flying  to  Badajoz 
to  prevent  the  ratification  of  the  treaty.  They  came 
too  late.  Gouvion  Saint-Cyr,  already  on  the  spot, 
had  protested  in  vain.  Charles  was  at  Badajoz  and 
Godoy  had  secured  from  him  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty  "  before  the  ink  wherewith  it  was  writ  could 
dry."     The  Spanish  generalissimo  pointed   out   that 


138  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

the  treaty  was  now  irrevocable,  and  defended  it  on 
the  grounds  that  the  primary  object  of  the  war  had 
been  achieved  and  that  "  his  catholic  majesty  was 
above  all  things  anxious  to  relieve  his  subjects  of  the 
burden  of  war  and  from  the  inconvenience  imposed 
by  the  sojourn  among  them  of  foreign  forces,  however 
well  behaved  these  might  be." 

The  First  Consul  found  it  difficult  to  frame  a  reply 
to  these  bold  words.  He  pretended  to  believe  that 
Godoy  had  been  bought  by  England,  and  he  re- 
fused to  ratify  the  treaty  concluded  by  Lucien.  He 
announced  his  intention  of  keeping  his  troops  in 
Spain  till  he  had  settled  terms  with  Portugal  to  his 
liking,  and  declared  that  if  the  king  and  queen,  at  the 
instigation  of  the  Prince  of  the  Peace,  should  take 
any  measures  at  variance  with  the  dignity  of  the 
French  republic,  the  knell  of  the  Spanish  monarchy 
would  be  sounded. 

The  worst  of  these  threats  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  officially  communicated  to  Godoy.  He  made 
matters  worse  by  complaining  that  the  number  of 
the  French  troops  in  Spain  exceeded  the  stipulated 
number  and  by  refusing  to  feed  the  surplus  forces. 
He  also  threatened  to  withdraw  the  Spanish  fleet 
from  Brest.  Napoleon  rushed  to  Azara.  "  Are  your 
monarchs  tired  of  reigning,  that  their  minister  dares 
to  provoke  me  thus  ?  "  he  thundered.  The  am- 
bassador, remarkably  enough,  succeeded  in  calming 
him,  and  repeated  that  his  sovereign's  sole  desire  was 
to  relieve  his  people  of  burdens  which  they  could  not 
endure.  Talleyrand  also  helped  to  moderate  the 
First  Consul's  wrath  by  pointing  out  that  France  was 
now  released  from  all  obligations  to  her  ally  and  could 


The  War  of  the  Orange^trees  139 

without  scruple  facilitate  the  peace  negotiations  by- 
abandoning  Trinidad  to  the  English. 

The  conqueror  took  this  hint  and  dissembled  his 
indignation.  He  did  not  even  recall  his  brother, 
but  suffered  him  to  conclude  another  treaty  with 
Portugal,  by  which  the  war  indemnity  was  increased 
to  25  millions  and  an  enormous  quantity  of  the  crown 
jewels  of  the  house  of  Braganza  was  transferred  to  the 
First  Consul  for  his  private  use.  The  French  troops, 
to  the  immense  relief  of  the  Spaniards,  immediately 
recrossed  the  Pyrenees. 

In  the  same  month  the  Spanish  Government  learned 
that,  by  the  preliminary  treaty  of  peace  signed  at 
London,  France  had  agreed  to  the  annexation  of 
her  ally's  island  to  the  English  dominions.  It  was 
resolved  to  ignore  the  negotiations,  so  that  Spain 
might  perhaps  have  an  opportunity  of  making  a 
separate  peace  with  England.  Azara  was,  however, 
instructed  to  protest  against  this  sacrifice  by  France 
of  an  ally  who  had  suffered  so  much  and  so  long  in 
her  cause.  Bonaparte  immediately  retorted  by  de- 
manding his  authority  for  making  such  a  protest, 
as  no  communication  had  been  addressed  to  him  by 
the  court  of  Madrid  on  the  subject.  The  Consul 
would  probably  have  troubled  himself  little  about 
Spain's  abstention  from  the  negotiations,  but  the 
English  ambassador  insisted  that  she  should  formally 
ratify  the  cession  of  Trinidad. 

Gouvion  Saint-Cyr  was  told  to  demand  of  King 
Charles  that  Azara  should  be  appointed  his  represen- 
tative at  the  forthcoming  conference  at  Amiens. 
The  French  general  was  also  instructed  to  explain 
that  Spain's  own  breach  of  faith  in  the  Portuguese 


140  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

war  had  brought  about  the  loss  of  the  island,  and  to 
inform  the  king  that  the  Consul  was  profoundly 
dissatisfied  with  the  behaviour  of  the  Prince  of  the 
Peace.  It  does  not  appear  that  this  despatch  was 
actually  repeated.^  Bonaparte's  agents  often  enough 
extracted  the  venom  from  their  master's  messages 
before  delivering  them.  Very  reluctantly,  however,  the 
king  appointed  Azara  his  plenipotentiary  at  Amiens, 
where  on  March  23,  1802,  peace  was  signed  between 
England  and  France  and  the  latter  Power's  allies, 
Spain  and  Holland,  with  the  loss  to  these  of  Trinidad 
and  Ceylon  respectively. 

Godoy  assures  us  that  Spain  resigned  the  West 
Indian  island  willingly  enough  in  the  interest  of 
general  peace,  and  appears  to  think  that  she  got  off 
lightly.  Against  the  island  she  could  certainly  set 
her  recent  conquest,  Olivenza.  He  also  denies  that 
any  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  on  Charles  by  the 
First  Consul,  who  publicly  thanked  his  ally  for  having 
made  so  generous  a  sacrifice  in  the  cause  of  humanity. 
Godoy  probably  felt  himself  responsible  for  the  loss 
which  he  here  attempts  to  minimise,  by  his  action 
with  regard  to  Portugal.  His  conduct  needed  no 
such  flimsy  and  obviously  insincere  defence.  He 
need  have  indulged  no  sentiments  of  remorse.  Bona- 
parte did  not  spare  his  other  ally,  Holland,  which 
had  given  him  no  cause  for  dissatisfaction,  real  or 
pretended.  If  Spain  had  burnt  Lisbon  and  Oporto 
to  the  ground,  Bonaparte  would  have  sacrificed  her 
territories  to  redeem  the  French  colonies  in  English 
possession. 

1  "  Rien  ne  marque  le  sejour  de  Gouvion  Saint-Cyr  a  Madrid." — 
Grandraaison. 


LUCIEN    BONAPARTE, 


141 


,The  War  of  the  Orange^trees  143 

In  bringing  the  war  with  Portugal  to  an  ea.vly  con- 
clusion Godoy  certainly  acted  in  the  best  interests 
of  the  peninsula.  Had  French  troops  taken  part 
in  the  conquest  they  would  not  have  quitted  the 
country  till  the  peace,  which,  for  all  Godoy  knew, 
might  have  been  very  long  in  coming.  Moreover,  the 
English  might  have  sent  an  army  to  assist  the  Portu- 
guese, and  Spain  itself  might  thus  have  become,  as 
it  did  later,  the  scene  of  the  final  struggle  between 
French  and  British.  And  even  had  Godoy  wished 
to  act  otherwise,  it  is  certain  that  his  master  would 
never  have  allowed  the  war  against  his  daughter's 
husband  to  be  fought  to  the  last  ditch. 

Lucien  Bonaparte,  for  one,  was  so  pleased  with 
the  result  of  the  brief  campaign  that  he  thought  the 
moment  favourable  for  an  alliance  of  a  more  intimate 
character  than  before  between  the  courts  of  Paris  and 
Madrid.  On  hearing  of  the  signature  of  the  prelimin- 
aries of  peace  at  London,  he  came  at  a  late  hour  of  the 
night  to  see  Godoy,  and  began  to  talk  about  the  Euro- 
pean situation.  Among  the  other  Governments  he 
spoke  of  that  of  Naples,  and  described  it  as  "  devoted  to 
the  British  and  a  disturber  of  the  peace  of  Europe." 
"  That  may  be  so,"  replied  Godoy,  "  but  the  king  of 
Naples  is  likely  to  join  the  alliance  of  Spain  and 
Etruria  with  France,  for  our  king  proposes  to  marry 
the  prince  of  Asturias  to  one  of  his  daughters,  and 
the  infanta  Maria  Isabel  to  Prince  Leopold  of  Naples." 
"  Dissuade  the  king  from  any  such  project,"  cried 
Lucien.  "  My  brother  would  prefer  to  depose  the 
king  of  Naples  and  put  an  infante  of  Spain  in  his 
place.  Moreover " — the  tone  of  the  ambassador 
became     confidential — "  the     infanta     Maria    Isabel 

9 


144  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

may  become  a  bond  the  more  between  France  and 
Spain." 

"  My  brother,"  continued  Lucien,  "  is  a  great 
power  in  himself.  He  will  share  his  glory  with 
Spain,  the  comrade  of  France.  As  to  minor  difhcul- 
ties,  there  is  no  need  to  dwell  on  them — all  things, 
human  and  divine,  may  be  set  aside  in  the  interest 
of  nations." 

Godoy  understood  that  Lucien  was  proposing  the 
king  of  Spain's  daughter  as  bride  for  his  brother, 
the  husband  of  another  living  woman.  The  favourite 
piqued  himself  upon  his  advanced  notions  ;  he  was 
no  devotee  and  certainly  no  puritan  ;  but  to  a  man 
brought  up  in  catholic  and  monarchical  Spain  such 
a  proposal  must  have  seemed  the  grossest  of  insults 
to  his  country  and  its  sovereign.  "  The  difficulty 
of  framing  a  reply,"  he  writes,  "  may  be  imagined. 
Assuring  him  of  my  appreciation  of  this  fresh  proof 
of  friendship  and  confidence,  I  took  refuge  in  vague 
words  which  I  seasoned  as  well  as  I  could  with  praises 
of  his  brother,  and  endeavoured  to  conceal  the  sur- 
prise and  the  impression  produced  in  me  by  so  grave 
a  proposal." 

Godoy  was  convinced  that  this  extraordinary, 
scheme  originated  in  the  mind  of  Napoleon  himself, 
and  saw  in  it  the  explanation  of  his  cordiality  towards 
the  king  and  queen  of  Etruria.  To  Napoleon,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  suggestion  was  represented  by 
his  brother  as  having  come  from  Maria  Luisa.  There 
seems  no  doubt  that  it  was  as  unacceptable  to  the 
First  Consul  as  it  was  repugnant  to  the  Spanish 
court,  and  that  it  was  conceived  in  the  lively  brain 
of  Lucien  and  nowhere  else.     It  was  part  of  the  cam- 


The  War  of  the  OrangC'trees  145 

paign  waged  against  the  barren  Josephine  by  her 
husband's  family.  When  reproached  by  her,  the 
young  man  answered  that  he  had  set  his  duty  to  the 
State  above  his  affection  for  her. 

This  intrigue  and  his  conduct  of  the  negotiations 
with  Portugal  earned  him  so  many  rebukes  from  his 
brother  that  on  December  10,  1801,  he  threw  up  his 
embassy  and  returned  with  his  usual  impetuosity  to 
Paris.  The  wealth  with  which  he  was  loaded  not 
unreasonably  inspired  the  First  Consul  with  sus- 
picions of  his  good  faith.  He  had  endeavoured  to 
acknowledge  the  favours  he  had  received  from  the 
Spanish  ministers  by  handsome  presents.  Napoleon 
refused  point  blank  to  make  any  acknowledgment 
to  the  Prince  of  the  Peace,  of  whom,  he  said,  he 
might  make  use,  but  for  whom  he  had  nothing  but 
contempt.  The  great  Corsican  was  so  fortunately 
constituted  as  always  to  be  able  to  despise  those  who 
thwarted  him. 

King  Charles  quivered  with  rage  when  his  favourite 
reported  to  him  the  proposal  of  the  French  am- 
bassador. "  So,"  he  exclaimed,  "  it  is  my  family 
that  they  would  select  for  this  scandal  !  "  He 
ordered  the  negotiations  for  the  double  alliance  with 
the  house  of  Naples  to  be  hurried  on.  The  infanta 
Maria  Isabel  was  to  wed  the  crown  prince  of  that 
kingdom  ;  this  prince's  sister,  Maria  Antonia,  was  to 
marry  his  bride's  brother,  the  prince  of  Asturias. 
Godoy  approved  the  first  match  ;  as  to  the  second, 
he  shook  his  head.  Being  alone  with  the  king,  he 
suggested  that  it  might  be  better  to  postpone  the 
prince's  marriage  till  his  education  was  completed. 
The  king  looked  grave  :    "  I  know  what  you  mean," 


146  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

he  said,  "  Ferdinand  is  backward.  But  do  you 
believe  that  by  delaying  his  marriage  a  year  or  two 
his  deficiencies  might  be  remedied  ?  " 

With  considerable  trepidation  Godoy  replied  that 
he  had  not  much  faith  in  the  education  imparted 
by  tutors — that  at  any  rate,  it  did  not  seem,  so  far, 
to  have  done  the  prince  much  good  ;  but  he  ventured 
to  recommend  that  his  royal  highness  might  receive 
considerable  benefit  from  a  couple  of  years'  travel  in 
the  company  of  carefully  selected  mentors.  Charles 
admitted  the  wisdom  of  this  counsel,  but  objected  that 
the  prince  might,  in  the  disturbed  state  of  Europe, 
be  exposed  to  accident  and  might  be  perverted  by  the 
evil  influence  of  some  foreign  court. 

Godoy  made  no  further  demur.  He  was  well 
aware  that  his  proposal  would  be  looked  upon  as  a 
scheme  to  rid  himself  of  the  persistent  hostility  of 
the  prince  ;  and  so  it  is  generally  regarded.  If  this 
was,  in  fact,  the  favourite's  motive,  it  was  abundantly 
justified  by  the  course  Ferdinand  was  presently  to 
pursue  ;  just  as  the  prince's  whole  life  and  character 
warranted  the  criticisms  on  his  education.  Moreover, 
nothing  could  have  been  more  offensive  to  Napoleon 
than  this  alliance  of  the  future  king  of  Spain  with 
the  daughter  of  his  bitter  enemy  and  traducer.  Queen 
Maria  Carolina  of  Naples,  the  friend  of  Nelson  and 
the  English. 

The  double  marriage,  notwithstanding,  was  cele- 
brated at  Madrid  on  October  4,  1802.  The  ceremonial 
and  public  rejoicings  were  carried  out  on  a.  scale  that 
exhausted  Spain  could  ill  afford ;  and  the  people 
were  delighted  at  this  alliance  of  their  royal  house 
with   the    most   imperilled    throne   in    Christendom, 


The  War  of  the  Orange-trees  147 

King  Charles  gratified  thousands  of  his  subjects  in 
the  least  expensive  way  by  conferring  titles  and 
orders.  The  Neapolitan  cross  of  San  Gennaro  was 
given  so  freely  that  it  was  said  to  be  worth  no  more 
than  an  egg.  The  whole  royal  family  was  united— 
the  king  and  queen  of  Etruria  had  come  over  to  witness 
the  ceremony.  Spain  rejoiced  as  if  she  had  known 
that  she  would  rejoice  no  more  for  many  a  long  day. 

To  this  period  of  Godoy's  ascendency  belongs  an 
attempt  to  extend  Spanish  influence  over  northern 
Africa.  In  the  year  1801  the  favourite  was  ap- 
proached by  Don  Domingo  Badia  y  Leblich,  a  native 
of  Barcelona,  who  had  devoted  most  of  his  life  to 
the  study  of  oriental  languages  and  Mohammedan 
institutions.  This  learned  and  adventurous  person 
appealed  to  the  Government  to  utilise  his  knowledge 
by  sending  him  on  a  scientific  expedition  to  Africa, 
to  be  extended  perhaps  to  Asia.  Godoy  approved  the 
project,  which  he  thought  might  open  new  markets 
to  Spanish  trade  and  result  in  scientific  discoveries 
of  importance.  Spain,  rightly  argued  the  favourite, 
ought  by  her  geographical  position  to  absorb  the 
lion's  share  of  commerce  between  Europe  and  Western 
Africa.  Badia  was  therefore  told  to  prepare  for  his 
mission,  which  he  did  in  the  most  thorough  fashion. 
He  perfected  his  knowledge  of  Arabic,  he  underwent 
the  rite  of  circumcision,  he  practised  all  the  observances 
of  the  Moslems,  and  cultivated  a  flowing  beard. 
When  he  was  ready  for  departure  he  looked  every 
inch  what  he  gave  himself  out  to  be — Ali  Bey  Ben 
Othman  Bey,  the  last  descendant  of  the  Abbasside 
sultans  who  had  once  ruled  in  Spain. 

In  this  character  he  was  received  with  the  utmost 


148  Godoy :  the  Quecn^s  Favourite 

respect  and  courtesy  by  Mulai  Suleyman,  the  reign- 
ing sultan  of  Morocco.  He  was  housed  in  a  palace 
and  presented  with  his  Shereefian  majesty's  choicest 
slaves.  Having  obtained  the  confidence  and  admira- 
tion of  his  host,  the  wily  Catalan  took  a  survey 
of  the  political  situation  of  Morocco.  The  sultan 
was  a  devotee  and  a  fanatic,  unpopular  with  his 
subjects,  and  bitterly  opposed  to  any  intercourse 
with  Europeans.  His  authority  had  long  been  dis- 
puted by  a  pretender  named  Ahmed,  with  whose  son, 
Hisham,  the  adventurer  entered  into  negotiations. 
In  return  for  the  assistance  of  Spain,  the  rebel  chief 
was  willing  to  cede  the  whole  kingdom  of  Fez. 

Godoy  rejoiced  at  this  opportunity  of  gaining  a 
firm  foothold  on  a  continent  then  almost  free  of 
European  domination.  Upon  the  report  of  Badia, 
he  ordered  the  Marquis  de  la  Solana  to  equip  an 
expedition  at  Cadiz  upon  the  pretext  that  the  Moors 
were  about  to  attack  the  Spanish  settlements  on  the 
Mediterranean  coast.  He  had  no  scruple  about 
attacking  the  hereditary  foes  of  Christendom,  who 
had  resolutely  refused  ever  to  conclude  a  definite 
peace  with  Spain. 

So  far  these  designs  had  had  the  approval  of  the 
king  ;  but  at  the  last  moment  there  came  a  letter 
from  Badia,  alluding  to  the  hospitality  with  which 
he  had  been  treated  by  the  sultan  and  the  confid- 
ence reposed  in  him.  Charles  cried  out  upon  the 
treason  which  was  in  contemplation.  "  I  will  never 
permit  hospitality  to  be  turned  to  the  ruin  of  one 
who  has  offered  it  so  generously,"  he  declared.  "  Let 
Badia  continue  his  travels,  but  let  us  not  so  ill  requite 
the  favours  he  has  received  from  this  Moorish  prince." 


The  War  of  the  Orange^trecs  149 

And  to  this  determination  his  catholic  majesty 
adhered.  To  his  intense  mortification  Godoy  was  com- 
pelled to  countermand  the  orders  he  had  issued,  and 
to  instruct  the  Catalan  to  extricate  himself  as  quickly 
as  possible  from  his  risky  position.  His  foresight  was 
defeated  by  his  sovereign's  honesty.  Hisham  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  an  independent  kingdom  for 
himself  without  foreign  help,  thus  proving  that  it 
would  have  been  within  his  power  to  fulfil  his  pro- 
mises. Had  Godoy's  advice  been  followed,  Spain 
might  have  won  an  African  empire  to  console  her  for 
the  loss  of  her  American  dominions ;  but  the  golden 
opportunity  was  wasted,  and  the  future  of  Northern 
Africa  no  longer  lies  with  Spain. 


CHAPTER    IX 

GODOY   VERSUS    NAPOLEON 

Though  holding  only  the  purely  military  office  of 
generalissimo,  Godoy  was  now  universally  regarded 
at  home  and  abroad  as  solely  responsible  for  the 
policy,  internal  and  external,  of  Spain.  It  is  im- 
possible for  historians  brought  up  under  a  consti- 
tutional regime  to  imagine  a  king  having  any  voice 
in  the  government  of  his  own  kingdom.  The  despot 
is  looked  upon  by  them  as  a  ruler  irresponsible  in  the 
medical  as  well  as  the  constitutional  sense  of  the  term. 
"  Because,"  complains  Godoy,  "  the  king  distinguished 
me  on  all  occasions  with  singular  marks  of  friendship 
and  affection,  taking  no  step  in  foreign  affairs  without 
my  advice  and  communicating  through  me  with 
ambassadors ;  because  he  consulted  me  frequently 
on  home  affairs  and  placed  me  finally  at  the  head  of 
our  land  and  sea  forces,  entrusting  to  me  the  task 
of  reforming  them — it  was  natural  to  suppose  that  I 
was  everything  in  the  Government  and  that  all  power 
was  concentrated  in  my  person.  But  this  was  not 
so.  Nothing  was  undertaken,  not  even  a  measure  of 
army  reform,  except  through  the  ordinary  ministerial 
channels.  Charles  IV.  consulted  and  listened  to  all 
his  ministers ;  no  business  was  transacted  or  decided 
without  them  ;  and,  though  the  king  may  have  fol- 
lowed my  advice  in  political  matters,  those  of  a  con- 

150 


Godoy  versus  Napoleon  151 

trary  opinion  had  always  the  opportunity  of  expressing 
their  views.  The  king  never  shut  his  eyes  or  acted 
blindly  or  by  routine  upon  my  advice.  Far  from 
doing  so,  in  certain  very  grave  matters  he  acted  upon 
counsels  altogether  opposed  to  mine." 

His  majesty,  at  all  events,  always  hearkened  to  his 
favourite's  appeals  on  behalf  of  his  subjects.  Godoy 
could  so  little  command  the  ministers  of  the  crown 
that  directly,  contrary  to  his  advice,  Cornel,  the  new 
Minister  for  War,  refused  to  admit  the  traditional 
exemption  of  the  people  of  Valencia  from  service  in 
the  militia.  The  Valencians  rose  in  insurrection  to 
maintain  their  liberties.  Caballero  and  Cornel  at 
once  proposed  to  march  an  army  of  twelve  thousand 
men  into  the  province  to  crush  the  rising  with  fire 
and  sword.  Godoy  and  Ceballos  were  for  milder 
measures.  The  generalissimo  published  an  appeal  to 
the  king  in  the  Gazette,  reminding  him  of  the  loyal 
services  of  the  Valencians  as  volunteers  in  the  late 
war  and  begging  that  the  militia  laws  might  be  sus- 
pended till  he  had  completed  his  scheme  for  the 
reorganisation  of  all  the  forces  of  the  crown.  His 
majesty  at  once  announced  that  he  had  granted  this 
request.  The  insurrection  immediately  ceased,  and, 
to  the  disgust  of  Caballero,  the  prince  succeeded,  two 
months  after,  in  extracting  from  the  king  an  amnesty 
for  all  but  seven  or  eight  of  the  insurgents.  The 
favourite  justly  prides  himself  on  this  almost  blood- 
less extinction  of  a  formidable  revolt  ;  but  clemency 
is  not  a  virtue  much  esteemed  by  his  countrymen, 
who  continue  to  blame  him  and  his  master  for  what 
they  consider  a  weak  surrender  to  the  forces  of 
disorder. 


152  Godoy  :  the  Quecn^s  Favourite 

Yet  Spaniards  could  not  afford  to  quarrel  with 
each  other,  for  it  became  every  day  plainer  that  the 
peace  between  England  and  France  was  but  a  truce. 
At  any  moment  Spain  might  be  again  called  upon 
to  take  side  in  the  war  of  the  Titans.  Neither  of 
the  two  great  Powers  was  willing  to  execute  all 
the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens.  England 
would  not  give  up  Malta,  France  would  not  evacuate 
Holland.  The  dispute  could  not  be  composed. 
The  First  Consul,  in  conference  with  the  English 
ambassador,  proceeded  from  words  almost  literally 
to  blows.  On  May  18,  1803,  the  two  countries  were 
again  at  war.     The  fight  to  a  finish  had  begun. 

By  the  treaty  of  San  Ildefonso,  Spain  was  bound  to 
draw  the  sword  in  defence  of  her  ally  ;  but  Godoy 
kept  it  sheathed.  Court  and  country  were  weary  of 
war.  The  loss  of  Trinidad  had  shown  them  what 
Napoleon's  friendship  was  worth.  Since  then  he  had 
shown  his  contempt  by  selling  Louisiana,  immediately 
upon  its  cession  by  Spain,  for  cash  down  to  the 
United  States,  the  very  Power  she  least  desired  as  a 
neighbour.  Charles  retaliated  by  forbidding  the 
importation  of  foreign  cotton  goods — a  measure  which 
hit  French  industry  hard.  Other  pin-pricks  warned 
Napoleon  that  his  ally  was  no  longer  to  be  trusted. 
Ceballos  was  known  to  incline  to  an  English  alliance. 
The  conqueror  had  to  stoop  so  far  as  to  attempt  to 
conciliate  Godoy. 

Beurnonville,  the  new  French  ambassador,  was 
ordered  to  discuss  with  him  the  policy  of  the  kingdom. 
He  reports  :  "  He  is  as  amiable  as  he  can  possibly 
be  in  our  social  relations,  but  I  am  dissatisfied  with 
him    as    regards    politics.     He    affects    the    greatest 


Godoy  versus  Napoleon  153 

frankness,  no  doubt  to  conceal  the  falseness  which 
I  suspect.  Every  time  I  speak  about  the  vexations 
suffered  by  our  commerce  he  pretends  that  these 
details  are  foreign  to  him  and  that  his  influence  is 
confined  to  high  political  questions.  He  then  repeats 
some  phrase  which  has  been  taught  him  by  his 
attendant  de mi-savants.  He  has  the  pretension  to 
pass  for  a  great  man  ;  yet,  when  you  have  spoken 
twice  with  him,  you  are  astonished  to  see  all  Spain 
at  his  feet.  But  he  directs  everything  and  we  must 
gain  him  or  overthrow  him." 

It  was  not  easy  to  do  either.  As  Godoy  held  no 
cabinet  rank,  he  could  always  deftly  shift  respon- 
sibility on  to  the  shoulders  of  the  ministers  ;  and 
these,  if  bullied  by  France,  were  capable  of  carrying 
the  country  into  the  arms  of  England.  Ceballos 
refused  to  believe  in  the  possibility  of  a  revival  of 
hostilities  and  would  do  nothing  to  increase  the 
armaments  of  the  kingdom.  Beurnonville  and  Frere, 
his  English  colleague,  bid  against  each  other  for  the 
support  of  Godoy.  The  prince  adopted  a  double- 
dealing  policy,  and  seems  to  have  been  guilty  of 
betraying  the  confidences  of  the  Englishman  to  the 
Frenchman.  Perhaps  he  thought  this  was  the  cheapest 
way  of  conciliating  France.  It  may  have  been  for 
the  same  reason  that  he  made  a  point  of  asking  the 
king  to  dismiss  Ceballos  in  June  1803,  with  a  fore- 
knowledge of  his  refusal.  All  the  ministers  wished 
to  avoid  war  ;  but  of  the  two  Powers,  France  was 
undoubtedly  the  more  dangerous  to  Spain.  England 
could  singe  the  king  of  Spain's  beard  ;  France  could 
strike  at  his  heart. 

Upon  the  rupture  of  the  peace  of  Amiens,  Napo- 


154  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

leon  called  on  Spain  to  comply  with  the  treaty  of 
1796.  Godoy  insisted  that  the  peace  had  released 
Spain  from  her  obligations.  He  proposed  to  remain 
the  friend  of  France  and  at  peace  with  England  at 
the  same  time.  He  had  abundantly  satisfied  the 
French  as  to  the  fragility  of  his  country's  armaments. 
He  suggested  that  France,  instead  of  a  contingent  of 
men,  might  be  ready  to  accept  an  advantageous  com- 
mercial treaty.  This  was  objected  to  by  Ceballos  as 
likely  to  promote  discontent  among  the  industrial 
classes.  This  was  to  appeal  to  the  king  on  his  weakest 
side.  He  wished,  at  all  costs,  to  live  at  peace  with 
his  own  people.  Ceballos  proposed  to  substitute  a 
subsidy  in  money  for  a  subsidy  of  men.  Godoy,  who 
is  usually  credited  himself  with  this  suggestion, 
demurred  to  it ;  he  argued  that  it  would  be  tanta- 
mount to  a  declaration  of  war  against  England.  But, 
as  Beurnonville  admits,  the  influence  of  Ceballos 
had  just  then  most  weight  with  the  monarch.  His 
counsel  was  adopted,  and  an  offer  of  help  in  some 
other  shape  than  men  and  ships  was  communicated 
to  France  on  July  7,  1803. 

Rightly  or  wrongly,  the  Spanish  Government 
thought  fit,  about  the  same  time,  to  concentrate 
large  bodies  of  militia  at  Valladolid  and  Burgos,  in 
order,  I  suppose,  to  remind  Napoleon  that  Spain 
was  not  helpless.  The  neutral  attitude  was,  more- 
over, persisted  in  too  far.  Two  French  vessels,  the 
Prudent  and  the  Timoleon,  were  taken  by  the  English 
under  the  guns  of  the  fort  of  Carnero,  without 
the  Spaniards'  firing  a  shot  to  save  them.  The 
governors  of  Malaga  and  Algeciras  looked  on  with 
indifference  at    similar  violations  of    Spanish  waters. 


Godoy  versus  Napoleon  155 

A  French  squadron  was  refused  admission,  under 
quarantine  regulations,  to  the  harbour  of  Corunna. 

"  All  this  will  end,"  shrieked  the  irascible  Corsican, 
"  in  a  clap  of  thunder,"  He  continued  to  rave  about 
the  vileness  of  the  Prince  of  the  Peace  and  the  un- 
speakable contempt  he  felt  for  him,  but  he  never 
doubted  that  he  was  the  only -^ man  in  Spain  capable 
of  withstanding  him.  Since  Godoy  could  not  be 
conciliated  he  should  go.  Beurnonville  was  ordered 
to  wait  on  the  prince  and  inform  him  that,  if  a  single 
Spanish  soldier  advanced  towards  the  frontier,  he, 
the  ambassador,  would  be  superseded  by  100,000 
French  bayonets.  Godoy,  probably  expecting  some 
such  outburst  on  the  part  of  Napoleon,  affected  to 
hear  the  announcement  with  surprise,  but  did  not 
seem  frightened. 

A  few  days  after,  the  reply  arrived  to  the  proposal 
of  Ceballos.  France  demanded  a  subsidy  of  six 
millions  of  francs  a  month  or  alternatively  the  dis- 
missal of  the  English  ambassador.  This  summons 
was  delivered  at  the  end  of  July.  The  court  was 
about  to  proceed  on  its  usual  summer  outing  to 
La  Granja.  Before  his  departure  Charles  wrote  to 
Godoy  as  follows  :  "  My  dear  Manuel,  I  do  not  wish 
to  quarrel  with  the  First  Consul,  and  I  am  prepared 
to  make  every  sacrifice  which  my  dignity,  my  means, 
and  the  interests  of  my  people  may  permit,  to  avoid 
a  war  with  France.  As  the  ambassador  Beurnonville 
is  authorised  to  sign  secretly  the  renunciation  of  the 
contingent  which  we  are  called  on  to  furnish,  settle 
matters  with  him,  let  him  know  our  situation,  and 
tell  him  that  I  throw  myself  upon  the  good-will  of 
the  First  Consul.     As  a  good  ally  he  will  exact  nothing 


15^  Godoy  :  the  Queen's  Favourite 

but  what  is  just,  and  he  certainly  could  not  wish  me 
to  break  my  word  of  honour.  I  approve,  dear  Manuel, 
what  you  have  written  to  Azara,  and  I  rely  on  your 
zeal  for  the  rest,  persuaded  as  I  am  that  you  will 
consider  only  my  tranquillity  and  the  prosperity  of 
Spain." 

Godoy  showed  this  letter  to  Beurnonville,  who 
was  content  for  the  moment  to  hold  his  hand.  But 
Azara  had  been  instructed  to  offer  a  subsidy  of  two 
and  a  half  millions  as  all  that  Spain  could  afford. 
There  was  a  fresh  display  of  childish  temper  on  the 
part  of  the  Consul.  He  wrote  at  once  to  Beurnon- 
ville :  "  If  by  the  3rd  September  there  is  a  single 
soldier  at  Valladolid  or  Burgos,  if  the  frontiers  of 
Biscay  and  Catalonia  are  not  entirely  cleared  of 
troops,  in  the  last  days  of  September  the  French  army 
will  exact  retribution  for  this  insult."  Spain  must 
promise  the  whole  sum  demanded  or  hand  Hookham 
Frere  his  passports  by  September  7  at  latest. 

Armed  with  positive  instructions,  Beurnonville 
appeared  on  September  i  at  the  levee  of  the  Prince 
of  the  Peace.  He  handed  his  serene  highness  the 
note  and  explained  its  tenor.  "  This,"  said  Godoy 
haughtily,  "  is  an  order.  His  catholic  majesty  takes 
orders  from  no  one.  I  do  not  accept  your  note." 
"  Have  a  care,  prince,"  hissed  the  ambassador,  "  there 
are  five  hundred  persons  present.  Take  this  note, 
or  I  will  call  them  all  to  witness  that  I  leave  this 
important  communication  to  the  king  under  your 
personal  responsibility."  Godoy  stared  at  the  am- 
bassador, but  kept  the  note  between  his  fingers.  The 
Frenchman  continued,  in  threatening  tones :  "  His 
majesty   is    above    all    criticism.     It   is   you,   prince, 


Godoy  versus  Napoleon  157 

who  will  be  held  responsible  by  the  Spanish  people 
for  the  calamities  in  which  you  are  about  to  involve 
your  country — you,  who  will  be  in  the  eyes  of  Europe 
the  deliberate  and  guilty  cause  of  war  !  "  "  Ah,  you 
wish  to  undermine  my  credit  with  the  nation  ?  " 
"  Beware,  prince,"  continued  this  diplomatic  monitor, 
"  of  a  factitious  popularity.  Of  all  these  courtiers 
who  come  to  ask  favours  of  you  there  is  not  one  on 
whom  you  can  count,  and  who  will  not  become  an 
instrument  of  the  public's  indignation  when  the  First 
Consul  opens  the  eyes  of  the  king  and  deprives  you 
of  his  confidence."  Tears,  we  are  told,  came  into  the 
prince's  eyes  at  this  threat.  "  I  will  come,"  concluded 
Beurnonville,  "  to  receive  my  reply  within  twenty- 
four  hours.  His  majesty  will  be  guided  by  your 
advice,  and  I  trust  sufficiently  in  your  discernment 
to  expect  good  news."  And  the  ambassador  stalked 
away  through  the  terrified  assembly. 

Of  this  interview  we  have  only  the  Frenchman's 
account.  Possibly  his  attitude  was  not  so  command- 
ing and  Godoy's  not  so  meek  as  he  would  have  us 
believe.  Tears  may  have  stood  in  the  Spaniard's 
eyes,  but  how  little  he  was  in  reality  moved  by  the 
ambassador's  bluster  may  be  gathered  from  the 
terms  of  the  king's  reply :  "  My  dear  Manuel, — I 
have  read  the  communication  you  have  received 
from  the  ambassador  of  France.  Tell  General  Beur- 
nonville that  I  have  already  despatched  my  reply  to 
the  First  Consul,  and  that  I  cannot  depart  from  it. 
My  financial  situation  will  not  admit  of  the  sacrifice 
demanded,  and  I  am  determined  not  to  enter  into 
any  engagement  which  I  cannot  fulfil.  Under  the 
terms   of  our   alliance,   the  ambassador  requires   our 


158  Godoy:  the  Queen^s  Favourite 

assistance.  It  will  be  furnished  him,  and  six  of  our 
vessels  are  ready  to  put  to  sea.  Any  other  arrange- 
ment which  might  involve  me  in  war  with  any  other 
Power  would  be  contrary  to  my  wish  and  to  the  inter- 
ests of  my  people.  The  crops  have  failed  again  this 
year  all  over  Spain.  If  I  declared  war  against  England 
at  this  moment,  I  should  expose  my  realm  to  the 
horrors  of  famine.  However,  the  First  Consul  will 
be  informed  of  all  this  through  Azara,  and  I  am 
satisfied  that  he  will  do  me  justice. — Charles.'* 

This  letter  was  read  by  the  Prince  of  the  Peace 
to  Beurnonville  on  September  3.  "  Very  well,"  said 
the  ambassador.  "  Now  listen  to  me.  I  am  now 
speaking  to  you  as  man  to  man.  Just  cast  your 
eyes  over  this  passage  in  a  letter  I  have  received  from 
Talleyrand.  Let  me  read  it  to  you  :  *  I  hope  to 
hear  within  a  fortnight  that  you  have  opened  the 
eyes  of  this  prince,  who  ought  to  know  by  this  time 
that  Bonaparte  is  the  most  irresistible  man  created 
by  God.'  Prince,"  continued  the  Frenchman,  "  while 
it  is  yet  time,  abandon  a  policy  which  means  your 
ruin.  The  First  Consul  will  do  justice  to  Charles  IV., 
but  he  will  call  down  the  vengeance  of  France  on 
his  favourite.  Be  warned  in  time !  The  Spanish 
people  are  devoted  to  their  sovereign,  but  they  have 
no  love  for  a  favourite  whose  fortune  is  as  great  as 
the  national  debt.  I  am  speaking  to  you  as  a  friend. 
Reject  my  counsels  if  you  like,  but  you  will  regret  it 
one  day  and  you  will  not  then  be  able  to  blame  me." 

"  I  hear  you,"  replied  the  upstart  prince.  "  I 
am  here  simply  to  do  my  duty.  The  will  of  the 
king  is  my  only  law  and  I  cannot  and  will  not  add 
anything  to  the  communication  which  you  have  just 


s  ^ 

Q     o 
O    O 


159 


Godoy  versus  Napoleon  i6i 

read."  Beurnonville,  at  his  wits'  ends,  left  the  palace. 
The  "  soul  o£  mud,"  as  he  was  pleased  to  term  Godoy, 
had  displayed  the  rigidity  of  granite. 

For  another  month  the  scene  of  these  diplomatic 
hostilities  was  transferred  to  Paris.  Azara,  probably 
out  of  affection  for  the  First  Consul,  had  tendered 
his  resignation,'  but  the  king  sternly  bade  him  con- 
tinue negotiations  with  the  French  Government. 
Charles  stated  that  he  had  proffered  his  mediation 
to  the  king  of  England  and  requested  a  statement 
of  his  attitude.  If  the  British  reply  was  unfavour- 
able, he  would  join  under  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
in  an  attack  on  the  common  foe.  Meantime,  he 
was  at  a  loss  to  understand  the  concentration  of 
French  troops  on  his  frontiers.  Napoleon,  after 
writing  a  score  of  bullying  letters,  which  he  or  his 
ministers  had  the  good  sense  not  to  despatch,  at 
last  sent  a  new  and  special  envoy  to  Madrid,  one 
M.  Herrman,  a  man  calm  in  manner  and  sober  in 
judgment.     He  was  the  bearer  of  an  ultimatum. 

Godoy  received  this  ambassador  extraordinary  at 
the  Escurial  on  October  3.  He  was  informed  that 
France  would  be  satisfied  with  not  a  franc  less  than 
six  millions  a  month  or  alternatively  a  declaration 
of  war  against  England,  together  with  compensation 
for  the  French  vessels  taken  in  Spanish  waters,  the 
degradation  of  the  governors  of  Malaga,  Cadiz,  and 
Algeciras,  the  admission  of  the  French  fleet  to  El 
Ferrol,  and  the  disbandment  of  the  militia.  Godoy 
debated  these  articles  one  by  one.  Herrman  refused 
to  argue,  but  warned  him  of  his  responsibility  and 

1  Frere  to  Lord  Hawkesbury,  August  29,  F.O.  Spain  (Record 
Office). 

10 


1 62  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

of  his  approaching  destruction.  "  Your  official  char- 
acter protects  70U,"  replied  the  Spaniard.  "  This 
is  not  the  language  employed  between  gentlemen." 
In  vain,  after  the  fashion  of  his  master,  the  envoy 
screamed  and  bullied.  The  Prince  of  the  Peace 
referred  him  to  Azara,  who  had  full  powers  to  treat. 

It  was  now  once  more  the  turn  of  Beurnonville. 
Indignant  at  the  intervention  of  his  colleague,  he 
now  rushed  like  a  mad  bull  upon  the  prince  and 
summoned  him  to  sign  the  ultimatum  there  and 
then.  Godoy  replied  that  the  king  would  consent 
to  furnish  the  subsidy — nothing  more.  Heaping 
insults  on  the  favourite's  head,  the  ambassador  rushed 
off  to  Ceballos  and  demanded  an  audience  of  the 
king.  He  would  hand  his  majesty  directly  the  note 
of  M.  de  Talleyrand  and  the  letter  of  the  First  Consul. 
The  audience  was  promised  for  a  quarter-past  eleven 
in  the  morning  of  October  11.  Beurnonville  flattered 
himself  that  the  knell  of  the  Prince  of  the  Peace  had 
at  last  sounded. 

The  letter  with  which  Napoleon  hoped  to  accom- 
plish the  favourite's  ruin  was  a  vulgar  document 
characteristic  of  the  writer.  He  ordered  Charles  to 
dismiss  a  man  who  had  made  himself  the  real  king 
of  Spain,  who  lived  for  the  satisfaction  of  his  own 
vices,  who  had  no  elevated  sentiment  (this  from  the 
assassin  of  the  due  d'Enghien,  the  butcher  of  Jaffa  !), 
who  was  sold  to  England,  and  v/ho  proposed  to  retire 
to  London  to  enjoy  the  price  of  his  country's  ruin. 
If  Charles  did  not  obey,  the  First  Consul  would 
declare  war  against  Spain. 

Strange  to  say,  the  bomb  did  not  burst ;  Godoy 
had  seen  to  that.     At  the  appointed  hour  General 


Godoy  versus  Napoleon  163 

Beurnonville  appeared  at  the  palace.  He  was  received 
by  the  king  and  queen  with  all  the  pomp  and  cere- 
mony of  royalty.  A  trifle  abashed  in  spite  of  himself, 
the  ambassador,  in  civil  tones,  acquainted  his  catholic 
majesty  with  the  orders  of  Bonaparte  and  presented 
that  truculent  person's  autograph  letter.  Charles 
smiled  blandly  and  took  the  letter  without  glancing 
at  it.  "Tell  the  First  Consul,"  he  said,  "that  I 
esteem  as  much  as  I  like  him,  and  that  I  am  much 
more  attached  to  France  than  to  England,  and  will 
do  all  that  I  can.  I  will  tax  my  subjects,  my  clergy, 
I  will  tax  myself;  but  I  will  not  consent  to  the  dis- 
missal of  Manuel,  for  no  one  can  object  to  my  liking 
for  a  man  who  acts  properly  and  whose  society  is 
necessary  to  me.  I  accept,  therefore,  the  Consul's 
letter,  but  I  shall  not  open  it,  as  Azara  has  this  nego- 
tiation in  hand." 

The  more  blandly  the  king  smiled  the  bigger  he 
seemed  to  become.  Maria  Luisa  smiled  sweetly  at 
the  ambassador,  everybody  bowed  and  purred.  Poor 
Beurnonville  was  reduced  to  impotence  by  the 
serenity  of  the  atmosphere.  As  through  a  mist,  he 
saw  the  splendid  and  opulent  figures  before  the 
throne,  and  replied  mechanically  to  the  grave  Castilian 
compliments.  He  found  himself  dismissed,  and  bowed 
himself  out.  Going  downstairs,  he  no  doubt  recalled 
all  the  terrible  and  cutting  things  he  had  meant  to 
say  and  marshalled  once  more  the  arguments  which 
had  somehow  gone  astray.  After  all,  he  could  not 
have  snatched  the  Consul's  letter  out  of  the  king's 
hand  and  have  held  him  by  force  while  he  read  it 
aloud  to  him.  And  he  had  hoped  to  come  home  with 
Godoy's  head  on  a  salver  ! 


164  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

Spain,  however,  gained  little  by  the  favourite's 
address.  By  a  convention  signed  at  Paris  on  Octo- 
ber 19,  Azara  was  obliged  to  concede  most  of  the 
points  demanded  :  the  subsidy,  the  degradation  of 
the  governor,  and  protection  for  French  shipping 
in  Spanish  waters.  By  an  additional  clause,  his 
catholic  majesty  bound  himself  to  induce  Portugal 
also  to  contribute  a  million  francs  a  month,  as  the 
price  of  her  neutrality.  Probably  no  better  terms 
could  have  been  obtained,  but  Azara  was  the  warm 
friend  of  the  Consul.  Godoy  declared  he  was  more 
the  friend  of  France  than  of  Spain  ;  and  certainly 
this  ambassador  never  spared  his  own  Government  in 
his  communications  to  the  French  foreign  office.  His 
resignation  was  accepted  by  Charles  six  weeks  aftef 
the  signature  of  the  treaty;  in  January  1804  he 
died  with  his  hand  in  that  of  the  worst  enemy  of  his 
country.^ 

The  treaty  was  ratified  by  Charles  with  a  heavy 
heart.  But  even  Spanish  statesmen,  experts  in  the 
art  of  procrastination,  could  temporize  no  longer. 
Spain  was  placed  between  the  devil  in  the  shape  of 
Napoleon  and  the  deep  sea  controlled  by  Great 
Britain.  Hookham  Frere  threatened  Godoy  with 
the  consequences  of  an  alliance  with  France.  "  That 
is  all  very  well,"  said  the  prince,  "  but  what  are  the 
intentions  of  your  Government  and  what  have  you 
to  propose  ?  "  The  ambassador  had  nothing  to 
propose  except  a  commercial  treaty  as  a  means  of 
mollifying  his  country.     He  was  surprised  next  day 

*  See  F.O.  Spain,  vols,  xl.,  1.  (Record  Office)  and  Grandmaison  ;  yet 
Major  Hume  says  that  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  broke  Azara's 
heart ! 


Godoy  versus  Napoleon  165 

by  an  ingenious  proposal  made  to  him  by  a  discreet 
man  of  business  named  Bringas.  "  Let  Spain  fulfil 
her  obligations  to  France  by  making  a  nominal  attack 
on  Portugal.  That  our  king  can  mean  no  real  harm 
to  his  own  grandchildren  cannot  be  doubted.  If 
England  agrees  to  this  plan  and  remains  neutral  as 
regards  Spain,  we  will  agree  to  the  commercial  con- 
vention." 

Frere  replied  that  he  must  refer  this  suggestion  to 
his  chief.  Before  it  reached  London  it  had  been 
answered  by  Lord  Hawkesbury's  intimation  to  the 
Spanish  ambassador  that  any  attack  on  Portugal  would 
be  considered  an  act  of  war  against  Great  Britain  ^ ; 
yet  it  would  have  been  safer  for  the  little  kingdom 
to  have  been  engaged  by  her  neighbour  than  left  to 
the  mercies  of  Napoleon. 

Disappointed  by  the  rejection  of  this  project, 
Godoy  and  Ceballos  made  no  secret  of  the  tremendous 
pressure  being  brought  to  bear  on  them  by  France. 
Our  ambassador  realized  that  Spain  could  not  be 
expected  to  defend  herself  with  Manchester-made 
dish-clouts.  On  August  5,  1803,  he  sent  a  cypher 
message  to  Downing  Street  :  "  In  my  conversation 
with  the  prince  I  succeeded  in  persuading  him  that 
England  might  be  able  to  offer  a  minor  force  capable 
of  enabling  Spain  to  resist  France.  Great  promises 
can  do  no  harm.  This  country  wants  only  confidence. 
You  may  judge  that  I  shall  be  anxious  to  have  an 
answer  on  this  subject."  ^ 

Luckily  for  Spain,  our  ambassador  had  not  succeeded 
in  persuading  Godoy  of  England's  readiness  to  help, 

1  June  8  ;   Record  Office,  F.O.  Spain,  vol.  1. 
^  Record  Office,  F.O.  Spain,  vol.  1. 


1 66  Godoy:  the  Qucen^s  Favourite 

and  no  confirmation  of  the  offer  was  received  from 
London.  Frere  continued  to  protest  against  Spain's 
submission  to  the  exactions  of  her  ally ;  Godoy 
continued  to  point  out  the  futility  of  resistance.  If 
Portugal  would  pledge  herself  to  assist  Spain  with  all 
her  forces,  something  might  be  done  ;  he,  the  Prince, 
asked  nothing  better  than  to  command  a  Portuguese 
army.  This  alliance  our  representative  made  some 
efforts  to  bring  about,  but  he  was  thwarted  by  the 
Lisbon  cabinet's  unconquerable  aversion  from  their 
neighbour. 

On  October  9  he  announced  (prematurely  in 
fact)  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  of  subsidy,  adding 
disgustedly,  "  Under  the  circumstances,  having  nothing 
to  oppose  but  vague  exhortation  and  general  assurances 
of  support,  with  such  slight  encouragement  as  I  could 
engage  the  ministers  of  Austria  and  Prussia  occasion- 
ally to  throw  in,  Mr.  Freire  [the  Portuguese  repre- 
sentative at  Madrid]  never  having  been  authorised 
by  his  Government  to  do  anything  more  than  make  a 
kind  of  loose  declaration  that  they  were  sensible  of  the 
importance  of  the  Pyrenees  as  the  common  natural 
frontier  of  the  two  countries,  it  will  not  appear  in 
any  degree  extraordinary  that  these  things  should  have 
taken  the  turn  they  have  done." 

Godoy  had  been  shrewd  enough  to  perceive  that 
England  would  not  have  lifted  a  bayonet  to  protect 
Spain  against  her  tyrant.  His  suspicion  was  con- 
firmed when,  on  his  announcing  (truly  or  falsely) 
that  the  French  had  demanded  a  right  of  passage  at 
any  and  all  times  for  their  troops  across  any  part 
of  the  kingdom.  Lord  Hawkesbury,  in  a  despatch 
dated  November  24,  replied  that  the  British  Govern- 


Godoy  versus  Napoleon  167 

ment  found  it  impossible  to  make  any  definite  promise 
of  military  succour.  Napoleon's  army  was  threatening 
the  shores  of  Kent.  Nothing  would  have  suited  us 
better  than  a  diversion  of  that  army  to  the  side  of  the 
Pyrenees ;  nothing  would  have  suited  us  less  than  a 
diversion  of  our  forces  from  our  own  shores  to  those 
of  the  peninsula. 

Having  been  unable  to  delude  Godoy  by  specious 
promises,  Mr.  Frere  resorted  to  threats,  and  informed 
him  that  his  Government  would  regard  the  continu- 
ance of  the  subsidy  to  France  as  an  act  of  hostility. 
"  Very  well,"  was  the  answer,  "  declare  war  upon  us 
as  soon  as  you  like.  We  shall  then  be  relieved  from 
this  appalling  tribute."  With  all  her  men  and  ships 
needed  for  the  defence  of  her  own  shores,  England 
was  not  at  all  anxious  to  do  this.  Frere  did  not  accept 
the  challenge,  but  urged  Godoy  to  put  his  trust  in 
Great  Britain,  promising  help,  as  he  admits,  in  "  rather 
more  favourable  terms  "  than  his  instructions  war- 
ranted. He  ventured,  like  his  French  colleague,  to 
refer  to  the  insecurity  of  the  favourite's  position. 
"  Still,"  he  observed,  "  there  are  few  persons  in 
authority  nowadays  who  have  not  entrusted  their 
fortune  to  the  safe-keeping  of  England.  Your  highness 
has  probably  nothing  to  fear  on  that  score  from  an 
invasion.  If,  however,  you  have  not  the  funds  to 
tide  you  over  any  such  catastrophe,  you  could  count 
on  us." 

"  Mr.  Frere,"  replied  the  Prince,  "  my  fortune,  for 
good  or  ill,  is  bound  up  with  my  country.  I  have  no 
funds  in  the  Bank  of  England,  nor  do  I  acknowledge 
any  better  safeguard  than  Spain  affords.  As  to  the 
rest  of  your  remarks,  let  us  forget  you  have  uttered 


1 68  Godoy  :   the  Queen's  Favourite 

them.  A  Spaniard  does  not  sell  his  king  for  all  the 
wealth  of  the  Indies." 

Frere,  reporting  this  interview,  admits  that  Godoy 
replied  to  his  proposals  in  terms  which  he  would  not 
repeat,  but  which  fully  satisfied  him  of  the  fairness  of 
his  intentions.  The  king's  favourite  could  not  be 
bought  by  francs  or  guineas. 

Yet  the  ambassador  stayed  on  at  the  court  of 
Madrid,  hoping  that  some  coalition  of  the  continental 
Powers  would  embolden  Spain  to  throw  off  the  yoke 
of  the  French.  Godoy,  perceiving  that  the  tribute 
was  draining  the  country  of  its  last  resources,  invited 
England  over  and  over  again  to  declare  war.  It  was 
to  this  end  that  he  deliberately  picked  a  quarrel  with 
Frere,  and  in  a  manner,  it  must  be  said,  that  reflected 
no  lustre  on  him.  In  a  Parisian  paper  appeared  the 
report  of  a  conversation  between  him  and  the  am- 
bassador, which  put  the  latter  in  a  very  unfavourable 
light.  His  excellency  invited  his  highness  to  con- 
tradict this  report  as  publicly  as  it  had  been  uttered. 
Godoy  replied,  in  stilted  language,  that  no  one  who 
knew  him  could  suppose  him  to  have  inspired  the 
printed  version  of  their  interview,  but  since  "  such 
slanders  were  beneath  the  greatness  of  his  soul  "  he 
was  surprised  that  his  excellency  should  notice  them. 

Frere,  in  answer,  pointed  out  that  nothing  attri- 
buted in  the  newspaper  to  the  prince  was  inconsistent 
with  the  greatness  of  soul  on  which  he  so  justly  prided 
himself,  but  that  he,  the  ambassador,  had  been  the 
object  of  the  slander,  and,  not  being  possessed  of  the 
prince's  dignity  of  character,  was  disposed  to  resent 
it.  To  this  retort  Godoy  could  find  no  other  reply 
than  to  remind  the  ambassador  that  he  was  not  a 


Godoy  versus  Napoleon  169 

minister  of  State  and  that  his  denial  of  the  report 
could  carry  no  weight.  Mr.  Frere  very  properly 
declined  to  continue  the  correspondence,  and  broke 
off  all  communication  with  the  favourite.  In  August 
he  returned  to  England,  leaving  his  brother,  Bartle 
Frere,  as  charge  d'affaires. 

If  England  did  not  choose  to  take  offence,  she  did 
not  hesitate  to  give  it.  King  Charles's  throne  was 
besieged  with  the  complaints  and  protests  of  his 
subjects  against  acts  of  aggression  by  English  seamen. 
The  old  king  would  not  be  driven  into  war.  "  It 
is  my  determination  to  remain  at  peace  with  England," 
he  declared.  "  But  the  English  are  burning  your 
ships,"  expostulated  Godoy.  "  Pooh !  "  said  the 
king,  ''  the  captains  were  probably  drunk.  We  are 
not  going  to  take  upon  ourselves  the  quarrels  of 
drunken  seamen."  But  there  came  a  day  when 
the  patience  even  of  Charles  IV.  was  exhausted. 
Four  of  his  frigates,  escorting  a  fleet  of  treasure-ships 
from  America,  were  waylaid  off  Cape  Santa  Maria 
by  as  many  English  warships  and  summoned  to 
surrender.  The  Spaniards  indignantly  refused.  The 
English,  without  an  instant's  delay,  opened  fire,  sank 
one  of  the  galleons,  and  towed  the  whole  fleet  into 
Portsmouth  as  hostages. 

Happily  for  the  good  name  of  Britain,  this  disgraceful 
act  of  piracy  was  described  in  proper  terms  by  not  a 
few  of  our  most  prominent  statesmen.  "  There  are 
some  acts  of  hardship  and  severity  which  the  laws  of 
civilised  war  permit,"  said  Lord  Grenville,  speaking 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  "  but  this  atrocious  act  of 
barbarity  is  contrary  to  all  law  of  nations  and  stamps 
indelible  infamy  on  our  name."     In  the  lower  House 


I/O  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

Fox  stigmatised  the  attack  on  the  convoy  as  a  wanton 
and  premeditated  outrage  on  a  neutral  flag  and  "  to 
have  Mr.  Frere  at  the  same  moment  negotiating  in 
Madrid  was  an  act  of  fraud  and  duplicity  un- 
paralleled." He  suggested  that  Pitt  had  encouraged 
Spain,  since  the  rupture  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens,  to 
believe  herself  safe  from  attack,  merely  that  we 
might  begin  hostilities  at  the  moment  least  expected 
or  most  convenient  for  us.  The  attack  certainly 
deserves  to  rank  with  the  murder  of  the  due  d'Enghien 
and  the  treacherous  seizure  of  Tripoli  by  the  Italians 
in  our  own  time. 

It  was  not  till  December  14  that  King  Charles 
could  be  persuaded  to  sign  the  declaration  of  war. 
Napoleon — who  was  now  emperor — though  he  had 
at  first  preferred  the  financial  to  the  military  assistance 
of  his  ally,  was  delighted  at  the  turn  of  events.  He 
wanted  the  Spanish  navy  for  his  descent  upon  England. 
Ceballos,  always  inclined  towards  Great  Britain,  had 
to  be  spurred  on  to  war  by  Beurnonville,  now  am- 
bassador at  Madrid  for  the  second  time.  Godoy 
wanted  no  urging.  He  welcomed  war  as  a  relief 
from  the  crushing  burden  of  the  tribute.  Perhaps, 
too,  he  remembered  the  snub  he  had  received  from 
our  representative.  He  declared  himself  ready  to 
mount  his  horse  and  ride  to  the  camp  at  Boulogne  or 
wherever  a  Spanish  sword  might  serve  the  emperor. 
That  potentate,  no  longer  concerned  for  the  conjugal 
honour  of  Charles  IV.,  expressed  the  hope  that  the 
Prince  of  the  Peace  would  be  entrusted,  instead  of 
the  ministers,  with  the  negotiations  with  France 
relative  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war. 

Admiral   Gravina,  who   had   settled    the   plan    of 


Godoy  versus  Napoleon  171 

campaign  at  Paris  with  the  French  minister  of  marine, 
did  in  fact  confer  with  Godoy  on  the  eve  of  his  de- 
parture to  assume  the  command  of  the  Spanish 
fleet  at  Cadiz.  That  plan,  we  know,  was  Napoleon's 
own.  Godoy's  task  was  to  help  in  its  execution.  He 
worked  like  a  Trojan  and  stirred  up  his  colleagues. 
The  navy-yards  of  Spain  resounded  to  hammer- 
strokes,  the  arsenals  hummed  with  activity.  The 
war  meant  something  more  to  the  country  than 
vengeance  for  the  outrage  of  Cape  Santa  Maria. 
Spain  stood  enormously  to  gain  by  the  humiliation 
of  England.  Had  Napoleon's  project  been  successful, 
he  would  no  doubt  have  rewarded  his  ally  not  only 
with  her  former  possessions  of  Gibraltar  and  Trinidad, 
but  with  many  other  West  Indian  colonies  of  Great 
Britain — perhaps  also  with  a  slice  of  Brazil. 
Nelson  and  the  wind  decided  otherwise. 


CHAPTER  X 


TRAFALGAR 


Amid  the  clash  of  arms  factions  were  not  silent  in 
Spain.  The  country  was  sorely  impoverished,  though 
gold  still  coagulated  in  the  coffers  of  the  rich.  Yellow 
fever  decimated  the  southern  provinces.  The  famine, 
foreseen  by  Charles  IV.,  was  averted  only  by  the 
introduction  of  grain  by  a  French  company  in  exchange 
for  the  right  of  trading  with  the  American  possessions. 
As  piety  did  not  permit  the  Spaniards  to  reproach 
the  Creator  with  these  afflictions,  and  loyalty  would 
not  allow  them  to  blame  the  king,  a  handy  scapegoat 
was  found  in  Godoy.  The  dormant  hatred  of  the 
clergy  was  aroused  by  the  rumour  that  he  proposed 
to  reform  the  monastic  orders  ;  the  farmers  and 
capitalists,  who  had  hoped  to  profit  by  the  shortage 
of  crops,  were  enraged  at  his  interference  ;  to  crown 
all,  his  humane  instincts  led  him  to  obtain  from  the 
king  a  decree  forbidding  bull-lights  in  any  part  of 
the  realm.  He  had  given  the  people  bread  indeed, 
but  he  had  denied  them  their  favourite  sport. 

This  measure  alone,  one  would  suppose,  was  enough 
to  make  him  the  best-hated  man  in  Spain,  though, 
strangely  enough,  he  does  not  refer  to  it  as  one  of  the 
causes  of  his  unpopularity.  "  Against  the  Govern- 
ment [he  says],  and  me  with  it,  were  ranged  all  the 

173 


Trafalgar  173 

men  in  the  country  envious  of  power,  all  the  un- 
satisfied office-seekers  who  swarmed  at  court,  all 
who  fattened  on  the  abuses  now  threatened  with 
abolition,  all  who  lived  in  idleness  in  ecclesiastical 
establishments,  all  who  feared  loss  of  power  or 
influence  through  the  reform  of  the  laws — in  short, 
all  the  enemies  of  progress.  Even  among  its  friends, 
alas !  I  counted  not  a  few  opponents — men  seeking 
the  good  of  the  country  but  unwilling  to  believe  that 
I  was  furthering  it." 

United  in  the  first  instance  only  by  their  hatred 
of  the  favourite,  these  various  elements  found  a 
rallying-point  at  the  very  foot  of  the  throne.  In 
the  king's  heir  they  recognised  the  head  of  the  opposi- 
tion to  the  king's  government  ;  in  the  wife  of  the 
king's  heir  they  might  have  found  an  enemy  of  the 
national  flag. 

Prince  Ferdinand  of  Bourbon  was  a  bad  man  and 
a  tyrannical  king  ;  as  a  youth  he  is  admitted,  even  by 
his  few  admirers,  to  have  been  dull,  gloomy,  and  cold. 
Still,  according  to  Lord  Holland,  "  there  was  nothing 
at  the  period  of  his  marriage  in  1802  but  a  sinister 
countenance  in  the  prince  of  Asturias  to  announce 
those  odious  qualities  which  have  caused  so  much 
misery  to  his  own  subjects.  He  showed  little  in- 
clination to  study,  and  still  less  to  sports  and  amuse- 
ments. He  seldom  marked  the  slightest  preference 
or  affection  to  such  as  were  admitted  to  his  company. 
Some  little  aptitude  to  mathematics  was  observed 
in  him,  and  he  was  said  to  take  interest  in  the  scien- 
tific part  of  fortification  ;  but  it  was  generally  believed 
that  he  was  weak  both  in  character  and  intellect." 

These  defects  are  ascribed  by  more  friendly  writers 


174  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

to  the  circumstances  of  his  upbringing.  Yet  Godoy 
and  his  predecessors  in  power  had  neglected  no 
means  to  procure  him  a  good  education.  Among 
his  tutors  was  Father  Scio,  whom  Spanish  writers 
call  celebrated,  the  worthy  prelate,  Francisco  Ca- 
brera, and  the  Marquis  of  Santa  Cruz,  whom  Godoy 
calls  an  honour  to  the  nobility.  The  favourite,  as 
we  know,  had  not  much  faith  in  the  education  re- 
ceived in  the  atmosphere  of  a  court.  He  thought 
that  the  heir  to  the  crown  of  Spain  would  have 
profited  more  by  three  or  four  years'  travel  and  by 
a  personal  initiation  into  the  life  of  the  generality  of 
mankind.  It  cannot  be  said  that  his  notions  have 
been  adopted  in  regard  to  the  princes  of  our  own  day. 

Desired,  notwithstanding,  by  the  king  to  find  a 
new  tutor  for  his  son,  Godoy,  in  an  evil  hour  for 
himself  and  Spain,  selected  Don  Juan  Escoiquiz,  a 
native  of  Navarre,  who  had  once  been  a  page  at  court 
and  had  held  a  canonry  at  Zaragoza.  This  ecclesiastic 
frequented  all  the  minister's  levees,  and  had  repre- 
sented himself  to  Godoy  as  one  of  the  friends  of 
progress.  He  alleged  that  he  was  looked  upon  with 
disfavour  on  this  account  by  his  superiors.  He 
appeared  to  combine  the  character  of  the  scholar 
with  that  of  the  martyr ;  had  translated — badly 
enough — the  works  of  Young  and  Milton,  written 
a  tedious  epic  called  "  Mexico  Conquistada,"  and 
composed  a  treatise  on  the  duties  of  man  for  the  use 
of  schools.  The  minister's  choice  of  this  grave  and 
learned  person  for  the  post  of  tutor  to  the  heir- 
apparent  was  generally  applauded. 

Escoiquiz  justified  his  appointment  to  some  extent 
by  the  empire  he  secured  over  his  pupil.     He  no 


Trafalgar  175 

doubt  felt  that  he  had  obtained  his  power  by  more 
legitimate  means  than  his  patron  and  benefactor, 
against  whom  he  very  soon  began  to  poison  the 
prince's  mind.  At  the  time  of  Godoy's  first  dismissal 
from  ofhce  Ferdinand  was  fourteen  years  old — an 
age  at  which,  as  a  Spaniard,  he  was  fully  capable  of 
comprehending  the  relations  existing,  or  suspected 
to  exist,  between  his  mother  and  the  Prince  of  the 
Peace.  That,  by  opening  his  charge's  eyes,  he  was 
filling  him  with  contempt  for  his  mother  did  not 
occasion  any  remorse  to  his  priestly  tutor.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  to  the  reverend  gentleman  that  we 
must  attribute  the  prince's  estrangement  from  his 
parents.  They  did  not  love  their  son  in  the  beginning, 
say  some.  Yet  Charles  IV.,  if  not  a  frantically  devoted 
father,  was  at  least  capable  of  as  much  kindness  to 
his  children  as  royal  persons  in  his  day  ever  thought 
fit  to  display  ;  and  as  Maria  I.uisa  in  after-life  mani- 
fested passionate  affection  for  other  people's  children, 
it  is  hardly  likely  that  she  denied  it  to  her  first-born 
son.  The  boy  was  by  nature  cold  ;  and,  to  attach 
him  more  firmly  to  himself,  the  tutor  probably  told 
him  that  Godoy  had  robbed  him  of  his  parent's  love. 
The  ambitious  priest  was  not  long  in  demon- 
strating his  ingratitude.  Upon  his  patron's  retire- 
ment he  presented  their  majesties  with  a  memoir 
upon  the  interest  of  the  State  in  the  selection  of 
ministers,  in  which  able  study  he  skilfully  depicted 
Godoy  under  the  disguise  of  the  ideal  bad  minister 
and  himself  under  the  still  more  impenetrable  disguise 
of  the  good.  This  composition  he  accompanied  by 
some  poetic  effusions,  extolling  the  virtues  of  the 
king  and  execrating  his  evil  but  unnamed  advisers. 


176  Godoy:  the  Quecn*s  Favourite 

His  reverence  thought  he  had  in  him  the  makings  of 
a  Cisneros  or  an  Alberoni;  just  as  Godoy,  in  secret, 
beheved  himself  the  equal  of  Don  John  and  Pombal. 

Emboldened  by  the  continued  retirement  of  the 
favourite,  the  canon  Informed  his  majesty  that  his 
son  desired  a  seat  at  the  council-table.  This  ambition, 
he  considered,  was  a  most  promising  trait  in  his 
pupil,  proceeding  from  his  zeal  and  his  Intelligence. 
The  proposal  by  no  means  pleased  Charles.  He 
remembered  how  his  own  father  had  sternly  forbidden 
him  to  take  any  part  in  state  affairs ;  and,  as  a  parent 
of  the  old-fashioned  type,  he  naturally  thought  that 
the  training  which  had  had  such  good  results  with 
him  must  be  equally  beneficial  to  his  son.  Certainly 
if  Charles  HI.  excluded  his  son  from  the  council 
because  of  his  subjection  to  Godoy,  as  some  allege, 
Charles  IV.  had  as  much  reason  to  fear  the  influence 
of  Escoiquiz.  His  majesty  became  suspicious  of  his 
son's  tutor,  and  promptly  disposed  of  him  by  pre- 
senting him  with  the  archdeaconry  of  Alcaraz,  to 
which  was  attached  a  vacant  stall  in  the  metropolitan 
church  of  Toledo.  The  religious  calm  of  the  cathe- 
dral city  should  have  been  favourable  to  the  indul- 
gence of  the  canon's  literary  tastes,  but  he  found 
time  to  maintain  a  regular  correspondence  with  his 
late  pupil. 

Not  long  after,  Ferdinand  became  subjected  to 
another  Influence  probably  more  dangerous  to  his 
country.  He  was  married,  as  we  have  seen,  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  to  his  cousin,  the  princess  Maria 
Antonia  of  Naples.  Lord  Holland  speaks  of  the 
bride  as  "  a  pale,  sickly,  ugly  young  woman,  with  a 
gentle  expression  of  countenance  and  great  propriety 


CHARLES    IV.    OF    SPAIN. 
(Goya) 


177 


Trafalgar  179 

of  manner."  The  duchesse  d'Abrantes  declares 
that  she  fell  in  love  with  her  at  first  sight.  "  She  was 
not  tall,  yet  there  was  a  nobility  and  grace  in  her 
carriage,  proceeding  probably  from  the  pose  of  her 
head.  Her  fair  hair  betrayed  her  northern  origin 
[her  mother  was  an  Austrian],  and  there  was  little 
about  her  to  suggest  that  the  Santa  Lucia  and  Ponte 
Mole  had  heard  her  first  accents.  She  had  the 
Austrian  mouth  and  lips  and  the  Bourbon  nose, 
though  it  was  just  aquiline  and  did  not  come  down 
over  her  chin  like  her  father-in-law's.  There  was  a 
great  freshness  about  her,  and  this  freshness,  or 
rather  her  overflowing  health,  was  disagreeably  mani- 
fested by  the  exuberance  of  her  bust.  There  was  no 
beauty  about  her  arms  and  hands,  nor  her  feet,  which 
ought  to  have  been  smaller ;  but,  on  the  whole,  she 
looked  very  well.  She  was  very  much  a  princess. 
Her  manner  was  majestic  and  a  trifle  severe,  but,  as 
soon  as  her  glance  was  accompanied  by  a  smile,  then 
her  whole  countenance  was  illuminated.  There  was 
poetry  in  her  expressive  face,  and,  although  always 
silent  and  reserved,  her  face  conversed  with  you." 

The  duchesse  d'Abrantes  compares  the  simple  cos- 
tume of  the  princess  v/ith  the  elaborate  toilette  of  her 
majesty.  "  The  queen  appeared  to  me  still  beautiful. 
She  began,  however,  to  be  stout,  and  her  double  chin, 
like  that  of  Catharine  H.,  gave  her  a  matronly  air. 
Notwithstanding,  she  wore  her  hair  in  the  Greek 
style,  with  pearls  and  diamonds  stuck  in  her  locks, 
or  rather  in  her  wig.  Her  neck  and  shoulders  were 
very  much  uncovered.  She  wore  a  gown  of  yellow 
taffetas,  with  an  overdress  of  very  fine  English  lace. 
Her  arms  were  bare  except  for  bracelets  of  magnificent 
II 


1 80  Godoy :   the  Queen's  Favourite 

pearls  clasped  hy  a  single  ruby — the  finest  jewels  of 
the  kind  I  have  ever  seen.  The  queen's  arms,  like 
her  hands,  were  superb."  Her  eyes  the  duchess 
pronounced  to  be  admirable,  her  conversation 
brilliant,  and  her  manner  gracious  and  aifable. 

Of  Charles  IV.,  then  in  his  fifty-seventh  year,  the 
duchess  draws  a  less  flattering  portrait.     She  found 
him    extremely    "  original."     He    was    tall,    his    hair 
was  thin  and  white,  his  nose  was  of  unusual  length, 
and   did   not   add   beauty   to   a   face   undistinguished 
but  for  an  expression  of  kindness.     He  wore  a  hunting 
costume — a    faded    blue    coat    with    yellow    buttons, 
leather    breeches,    blue    stockings    rolled    aibove    his 
knees,    and    gaiters.     He    hunted    every    day    in    all 
weathers,    in    all    circumstances.     When    told    that 
one   of   his   children   was   dying,   he   started   for   the 
hills  notwithstanding,  with  the  remark,  "  Well,  what 
can  I   do  for  him  ?  "     In  these  daily  excursions  he 
managed   to   employ   no   fewer   than   seven   hundred 
men    and   five   hundred   horses.*     On   his    return   he 
joined    the    queen    on    the    promenade.     Tired    out, 
he    spent    the    evening   at    the    card-table   with   two 
old  lords  who  had  been  condemned  to  this  tedious 
attendance  for  years  past.     Four  or  five  other  parties 
were   arranged   in   the   gallery.     Presently   all   would 
fall  asleep,  the  cards  in  their  hands,  to  awake  only 
when  the  maitre  d^hotel  entered  to  announce  dinner. 
At  eleven  o'clock  the  court  went  to  bed. 

Next  to  shooting  and  carpentry,  the  king  loved 
music.  He  would  begin  the  day  to  the  strains  of 
the  violin,  and  a  concert  always  refreshed  him  on 
his    return    from    the    chase.     "  The    king    took    his 

^  Alquier. 


Trafalgar  i8i 

violin  and  took  part  in  rendering  some  piece  from 
Haydn,  Boccherini,  Viotti.  or  Jarnowick.  In  this 
way  he  inflicted  acute  suffering  on  some  of  the  most 
eminent  masters  of  the  instrument,  who  were  sum- 
moned to  take  part  in  this  orchestra.  One  day  it 
was  perceived  that  some  one  was  not  keeping  time. 
It  was  certainly  not  the  fault  of  the  professionals. 
They  took  counsel  together,  and  Olivieri,  who  was 
the  first  violin  at  the  Opera,  ventured  to  tell  the 
king  that  the  fault  was  his,  and  that  he  must  take 
three  bars  rest.  The  excellent  prince  was  astonished 
at  this  admonition.  He  regarded  the  artist  with 
stupefaction;  then,  readjusting  his  instrument  under 
his  chin,  he  said  majestically  in  Italian,  'I  re 
n'aspettano  mai ! '  (Kings  never  wait).  One  may 
judge  of  the  harmonious  effects  produced  !  "  ' 

For  a  long  time  the  musical  monarch  remained 
equally  insensible  to  the  discord  in  his  own  household. 
From  her  Austrian  mother,  Maria  Carolina  of  Naples, 
the  princess  of  Asturias  had  inherited  a  love  of  power, 
which  soon  asserted  itself  in  a  complete  domination 
over  her  young  husband.  The  daughter  of  Na- 
poleon's deadliest  enemy,  the  devoted  friend  of 
Nelson,  she  became,  as  Godoy  had  expected,  a  hostile 
critic  of  his  policy  and  an  eye-sore  to  the  French 
Government.  "  When  you  are  more  intimate  with 
the  Prince  of  the  Peace,"  wrote  Napoleon  to  Junot, 
"  let  drop  something  about  the  future  fate  of  Spain, 
and  let  him  see  how  dangerous  the  influence  of  the 
daughter  of  the  Austrian  of  Naples  must  be  should 
Charles  IV.  die." 

Godoy  had  no  need  to  be  reminded  how  fatal 
*  The  duchesse  d'Abrantes. 


1 82  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

that  influence  would  be  to  him  ;  for,  with  the  intuition 
natural  to  young  ladies  fresh  from  school,  her  royal 
highness  at  once  suspected  the  relations  of  the  favourite 
with  her  mother-in-law,  and  made  it  no  secret  that 
she  regarded  her  majesty  as  an  abandoned  woman.  In 
the  prince,  his  wife,  and  Escoiquiz  Godoy  recognised 
a  triumvirate  which  aimed  at  nothing  less  than  his 
utter  downfall. 

Charles  IV.,  unsuspicious  of  the  enemy  under  his 
own  roof,  gave  the  requisite  orders  for  the  arming  of 
his  navy.  To  Junot  Napoleon  wrote  in  February  : 
"  I  ask  but  one  thing  of  the  Prince  of  the  Peace  : 
that  the  Spanish  fleets  be  got  ready  for  the  great 
expeditions  which  I  meditate."  On  March  3  he 
wrote  :  **  Tell  the  prince  that  I  have  thought  out  a 
great  plan  ;  let  him  second  me  and  the  results  will 
be  advantageous  and  will  tend  to  confound  our 
enemies.'*  The  French  squadron,  under  Villeneuve, 
issuing  from  Toulon,  was  to  unite  with  the  fleet  of 
Gravina  at  Cadiz  and  to  proceed  to  the  West  Indies, 
where  another  French  fleet  under  Missiessy  was  to 
meet  them. 

The  primary  object  of  the  expedition  was  the 
reduction  of  the  English  colonies ;  that  the  fleet 
was  then  to  return  to  Europe  in  order  to  facilitate  the 
invasion  of  England  Godoy  probably  suspected,  and 
not  impossibly  was  told.  It  was  essential  to  the 
success  of  the  scheme,  even  as  far  as  he  was  positively 
acquainted  with  it,  that  Villeneuve  should  elude  the 
vigilance  of  Nelson,  then  closely  watching  his  fleet 
in  the  Mediterranean.  The  necessity  for  secrecy 
was  absolute.  To  his  father's  favourite  then  came 
Prince    Ferdinand,    inquiring    what    might    be    the 


Trafalgar  183 

destination  of  the  allied  squadrons.  Godoy  was 
embarrassed  for  a  reply.  To  tell  the  prince  would 
be  to  tell  his  wife,  and  the  information  would  be 
Nelson's  as  soon  as  couriers  and  fast-sailing  ships 
could  carry  it.  Napoleon's  plans,  he  replied,  after 
some  hesitation,  were  vast ;  the  squadron  of  Roche- 
fort  was  probably  destined  for  the  East  Indies,  Ville- 
neuve  was  bound  for  Egypt,  the  other  squadrons 
for  the  coast  of  Ireland.  With  this  explanation  the 
prince  was  content. 

Was  the  information,  as  Godoy  alleges,  com- 
municated by  the  princess  of  Asturias  to  her  mother, 
and  by  her  mother  to  Nelson  ?  I  believe  so.  The 
fleet  of  Villeneuve  left  Toulon  in  the  evening  of 
March  29,  1805,  and  steered  towards  Cartagena. 
The  English  admiral  lay  in  the  gulf  of  Palma.  On 
April  I  he  sailed  across  to  the  southern  extremity 
of  Sardinia.  Hearing,  three  days  later,  that  the 
enemy  were  at  sea,  he  steered  for  the  Sicilian  coast. 
On  February  14  he  had  written  to  the  Admiralty 
expressing  his  belief  that  the  destination  of  the 
French  was  Egypt  or  the  Levant.  "  At  this  moment 
of  sorrow,"  he  adds,  "  I  still  feel  that  I  have  acted 
right." 

At  the  beginning  of  April  he  was  still  of  this  opinion. 
For  two  days  he  cruised  off  Palermo  ;  not  till  the  9th, 
having  seen  nothing  of  the  enemy,  did  he  rid  his 
mind  of  the  idea,  and  sail  westward.  He  had  given 
Villeneuve  twelve  days'  start.  The  tenacity  with 
which  he  held  to  his  mistaken  belief  certainly  gives 
colour  to  the  allegation  that  it  was  based  on  informa- 
tion received  from  an  authoritative  source.  Godoy, 
by  deceiving  the  prince  of  Asturias,  had  in  all  pro- 


184  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

bability  saved  Villeneuve  and  his  ships — for  a  time 
at  least.  One  of  his  Spanish  commentators  throws 
doubt  on  his  story  and  quotes  a  letter  of  June  14, 
1805,  in  which  the  emperor  tells  his  minister  of 
Marine  that  his  plans  are  not  known  to  the  Prince 
of  the  Peace.  But  this  was  another  plan  altogether  ; 
and  in  any  event  Godoy  must,  at  least,  have  known 
that  the  fleet  was  bound  in  the  first  instance  for 
America. 

Spain  gained  nothing  by  the  expedition.  Gravina 
wanted  to  recover  Trinidad,  or  at  least  to  undertake 
some  serious  enterprise  against  the  enemy's  posses- 
sions ;  but  fear  of  Nelson  was  too  strong  in  Villeneuve, 
and  a  false  report  of  the  English  admiral's  approach 
sent  him  scudding  back  wath  a  press  of  sail  across  the 
Atlantic.  Nelson's  thoughts  immediately  turned  to 
Egypt  as  his  antagonist's  destination  and  he  made 
sail  for  the  strait  of  Gibraltar.  Two  days  after  his 
arrival  the  fleet  of  Gravina  and  Villeneuve  was  driven 
back  in  an  attempt  to  reach  the  Channel  by  Sir  Robert 
Calder,  off  Cape  Finisterre.  The  Spaniards  bore 
the  brunt  of  the  fighting  and  lost  two  ships.  The 
check  put  an  end  to  all  hope  of  invading  England. 
The  allied  fleets  put  into  Cadiz  and  remained  there 
for  another  two  months.  Goaded  by  his  master's 
taunts  and  threats,  Villeneuve  on  October  18  an- 
nounced his  intention  of  offering  battle.  The 
Spaniards,  convinced  by  this  time  of  the  incapacity 
of  their  commander  and  the  inefficiency  of  their  own 
crews,  reluctantly  followed  him. 

On  October  19,  1805,  the  aUied  ships,  thirty-four 
in  number,  one  by  one  dropped  round  the  point  of 
Cadiz  and  entered  the  open  sea.     The  British  fleet, 


Trafalgar  185 

of  twenty-seven  sail,  Nelson  in  command,  was  awaiting 
them.  As  dawn  broke  over  the  stormy  waters  on 
October  22,  six  Spanish  and  four  French  ships 
reeled  into  the  harbour.  The  battle  of  Trafalgar  had 
been  fought  and  lost.  Gravina  was  dead,  Churruca, 
and  Galiano.  Nelson,  in  the  last  hour  of  his  life,  had 
won  for  England  her  greatest  victory  on  the  waves. 

Very  different  from  his  imperial  ally,  Charles  IV. 
received  the  news  of  the  destruction  of  his  fleet  with 
the  composure  of  an  oriental.  The  honour  of  the 
Spanish  flag  had  not  been  tarnished.  Gravina  on  his 
death-bed  the  king  appointed  Captain-General,  to 
Admiral  Alava  was  sent  the  grand-cross  of  the  order 
of  Charles  III.  Liberal  provision  was  at  once  made 
for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  slain.  Almost  at 
the  same  time  arrived  the  tidings  of  the  capitulation  of 
the  Austrian  army  at  Ulm.  Turning  to  Beurnonville 
in  presence  and  hearing  of  the  Austrian,  Prussian,  and 
Swedish  ambassadors,  the  old  king  remarked  generally, 
"  Well,  this  is  good,  very  good  news,  which  will  make 
for  peace.-  Our  fleets  have  been  unfortunate,  but 
they  have  fought  well.  I  regret  deeply  the  captains 
and  admirals  we  have  lost,  but  with  time  we  shall  be 
able  to  build  other  ships." 

One  is  reminded  of  Mehemet  All's  sole  comment  on 
the  destruction  of  the  fleet  on  which  he  had  founded 
such  hopes  :  "  To  what  end  is  a  warship  built  but  to 
perish  in  battle  ?  " 

In  Spain  generally  it  cannot  be  said  that  the 
disaster  of  Trafalgar  produced  a  very  deep  impression. 
The  vessels  had  been  manned,  as  one  of  the  comman- 
ders remarked,  by  the  overflow  from  the  prisons — 
there  were  few  homes  that  had  to  regret  the  loss  of 


1 86  Godoy  :  the  Queen's  Favourite 

a  bread-winner.  Moreover,  the  defeat  was  regarded 
as  Napoleon's,  not  Spain's,  and  in  the  invasion  of  Eng- 
land Spaniards  took  but  a  lukewarm  interest.  Like 
their  king,  the  nation  seemed  abundantly  consoled  by 
the  valour  of  their  seamen.  While  the  poets  sang  of 
Trafalgar  as  of  a  victory,  the  party  of  the  prince  of 
Asturias  welcomed  it  as  a  fresh  reason  for  a  reconcilia- 
tion with  England. 

Nor  could  his  royal  highness  forget  or  forgive  the 
deception  practised  upon  him  as  to  the  destination  of 
the  fleet.  "  Look  here,  Manuel,"  he  said  angrily  to 
the  generalissimo,  "  I  will  be  frank  with  you.  Either 
they  have  deceived  you  or  you  have  deceived  me. 
You  told  me  that  the  squadron  from  Toulon  was 
bound  for  Egypt."  "  But,  sir,"  answered  Godoy, 
"  I  also  told  you  that  these  plans  might  be  altered 
according  to  events."  "  No ;  that  won't  do. 
The  squadron  started  at  once  for  the  ocean." 
"  But  your  highness  forgets,"  said  Godoy,  "  that  it 
had  made  an  earlier  start,  but  returned  to  port.  The 
first  time  the  fleet  was  probably  bound  for  Egypt, 
but  Nelson  got  wind  of  our  intentions  and  we  had 
to  change  them." 

This  explanation  the  prince  could  not  directly 
rebut ;  he  continued,  "  Very  few  of  the  things  you 
have  told  me  have  turned  out  to  be  true.  The  fact 
is  that  in  affairs  of  State  I  am  not  consulted  at  all, 
and  that  I  am  treated  as  a  mere  nobody.  The  heir- 
apparent  is  a  reflection  of  his  father  and  merits  equal 
respect.  Have  you  ever  lied  to  my  father  ?  " 
"  No,"  indignantly  replied  Godoy,  "  I  do  not  lie  to 
my  king.  You  will  be  king  some  day,  and  I  hope 
you  will  be  as  faithfully  served  as  I  have  served  your 


Trafalgar  187 

father.  You  do  not  trust  me.  I  wish  you  would 
obtain  my  dismissal  from  the  king.  I  shall  take  it  as 
a  boon."  "Hah!"  ejaculated  Ferdinand,  "you 
would  have  me  compromise  myself  !  "  and  he  turned 
his  back  on  the  generalissimo. 

The  prince's  exasperation  was  presently  fanned  by 
news  from  Italy.  Only  two  months  after  the  battle 
of  Trafalgar,  Napoleon  announced  his  determination 
to  depose  his  inveterate  foe,  King  Ferdinand  of 
Naples.  "  The  existence  of  the  dynasty  of  Naples," 
he  declared,  "  is  incompatible  with  the  peace  of 
Europe  and  the  honour  of  my  crown."  The  doomed 
monarch  was  the  brother  of  Charles  IV.,  but  there  was 
little  love  lost  between  them.  The  Spanish  court 
had  done  its  utmost  to  detach  Naples  from  the  English 
alliance,  but  In  vain  ;  and  Ceballos  went  so  far  as  to 
dismiss  the  Neapolitan  envoy  from  Madrid.  But 
the  forcible  seizure  of  his  brother's  kingdom  could  not 
be  regarded  with  indifference  by  the  king  of  Spain  ; 
even  though  Godoy,  sharply  questioned  by  Beurnon- 
ville,  assured  him  that  his  catholic  majesty  would  not 
allow  his  natural  feelings  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the 
peace  of  the  Continent.  In  February  1806  Ferdi- 
nand IV.  fled  to  Sicily,  and  Napoleon  set  his  brother 
Joseph  on  the  vacant  throne. 

The  princess  of  Asturias,  naturally  enough,  bitterly 
resented  this  spoliation  of  her  father.  She  was 
indignant  at  the  apparent  callousness  of  her  uncle 
and  father-in-law,  whom  she  probably  expected  to  rush 
into  war  with  France  on  his  brother's  behalf.  With- 
out waiting  for  Godoy  to  avow  his  sympathy  with  her, 
she  furiously  attacked  him  in  letters  to  her  mother 
which   his    or    Napoleon's    spies   intercepted.     Some 


1 88  Godoy  :   the  Queen's  Favourite 

of  them  were  found  to  contain  violent  denunciations 
of  the  king  and  the  queen,  the  favourite,  and  the 
emperor. 

Some  one — some  say  Godoy,  some  the  French  am- 
bassador— reported  the  correspondence  to  Charles, 
who  asked  the  queen  to  remonstrate  with  the  prin- 
cess. She  did  so,  we  are  told,  in  the  mildest 
manner,  but  her  royal  highness  answered  her  in  terms 
so  disrespectful  that  even  the  uxorious  Ferdinand 
felt  called  upon  to  protest.  The  intrigues  of  the 
queen  of  Naples,  and  perhaps  the  indiscretions  of 
her  daughter,  were  reported  by  Godoy  to  Napoleon. 
This  appears  a  mean  proceeding,  but  the  letters  may 
of  course  have  contained  matter  of  the  highest 
political  importance.  In  any  case  her  royal  highness 
was  no  sufferer  by  the  revelation.  "  Nothing  aston- 
ishes me  on  the  part  of  the  queen  of  Naples,"  wrote 
Napoleon,  "  yet  I  trembled  merely  on  reading  your 
letter.  I  am  consoled  to  hear  that  their  majesties 
are  in  good  health.  Never  doubt  the  interest  with 
which  you  inspire  me  and  the  desire  I  have  to  give 
vou  proofs  of  my  protection,  as  well  as  of  the  esteem 
and  friendship  I  bear  the  king." 

The  unhappy  princess  did  not  languish  long  in  the 
shadow  of  her  father-in-law's  displeasure.  It  had 
been  obvious,  from  the  moment  of  her  landing  in 
Spain,  that  she  who  had  been  selected  to  give  heirs 
to  the  kingdom  was  the  victim  of  phthisis.  I  do  not 
know  if  the  progress  of  the  dread  disease  can  in  reality 
be  accelerated  by  mental  anguish.  It  was  supposed 
so,  for  the  end  came  much  sooner  than  any  one  had 
expected.  The  princess  died  in  the  arms  of  her 
husband    at    Aunjuez    on    May    21,     1806,   in   the 


Trafalgar  1 89 

twenty-third  year  of  her  age  and  the  fourth  of  her 
wifehood. 

"  The  choricero  has  poisoned  her  !  "  wrote  Escoi- 
quiz  to  his  former  pupil.  "  No,"  replied  the  prince, 
"  she  died  of  the  malady  which  I  perceived  in  her 
when  we  were  married."  But  the  foul  rumour, 
notwithstanding  the  husband's  denial,  was  busily 
circulated  by  the  favourite's  innumerable  foes.  "  It 
was  her  parents,"  said  Godoy  bitterly,  "  who  sacri- 
ficed her  by  concealing  from  us  her  infirmity  and 
sending  her  to  a  climate  like  that  of  Madrid,"  where 
the  air,  as  we  know,  "  will  not  blow  out  a  candle  but 
will  snuff  out  a  life."  The  humane  prince  who  had 
interceded  for  his  enemies  and  rescued  the  orphans 
on  the  streets  was  pointed  at  by  Escoiquiz  as  a  stupid 
and  brutal  murderer.  So  persistent  was  the  calumny 
that,  by  order  of  the  court,  the  physicians  pub- 
lished a  statement  giving  the  most  precise  and  even 
revolting  details  of  the  princess's  malady  and  the 
post-mortem  examination  of  her  body.  This  report 
satisfied  most  people  in  Spain,  but  the  story  continued 
to  spread  through  Europe  and  is  still  given  currency 
by  sensational  historians. 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE   TREATY    OF    FONTAINEBLEAU 

So  far  from  having  compassed  the  princess's  death, 
Godoy  had  good  reasons  for  wishing  her  to  Uve.  It 
might  have  been  in  her  power  to  have  reconciled  him 
with  her  husband  and  to  have  united  the  court  in 
opposition  to  the  Imperial  tyrant.  From  the  time  of 
her  death  we  find  the  Prince  of  the  Peace  forced 
to  play  a  double  game.  He  was  placed  between  two 
fires.  On  the  one  hand,  the  prince  of  Asturias  vowed 
him  an  Implacable  enmity  and  threatened  to  strip 
him  of  his  wealth  and  power  as  soon  as  the  sceptre  had 
fallen  into  his  hands  ;  on  the  other,  the  Emperor  of 
the  French  affected  to  support  him.  In  order,  as  It 
seemed,  to  buy  his  acquiescence  in  the  humiliation  of 
Spain. 

Godoy  remembered  the  peace  of  Amiens  and  the 
selfish  sacrifice  of  the  Spanish  colonies.  He  had  kept 
Spain  out  of  the  war  as  long  as  he  could  and  had 
opposed  the  subvention  tooth  and  nail.  When  war 
had  been  forced  on  Spain  by  England  he  had  assisted 
Napoleon  In  the  hope  of  recovering  Trinidad  and 
other  lost  possessions.  His  hopes  had  been  blasted 
at  Trafalgar  ;  all  that  Spain  had  got  from  her  alliance 
with  France  was  the  kingdom  of  Etruria.  And  now, 
without  any  apology,  his  catholic  majesty's  ally  seized 
his  brother's  kingdom.     No  one  in  Spain  cared  two 

190 


The  Treaty  of  Fontainebleau  191 

straws  for  the  cruel  Ferdinand  of  Naples,  but  his  fate 
was  only  too  plainly  to  be  regarded  as  a  precedent. 
All  Napoleon's  gifts  were  Greek  gifts.  He  did  not 
want  allies,  but  vassals. 

Henceforward  it  became  Godoy's  policy  to  secure 
his  future  against  the  attacks  of  the  prince  of  Asturias, 
if  necessary,  by  the  help  of  Napoleon  ;  but  to  grant 
his  interested  protector  nothing  in  return  contrary 
to  the  welfare  of  Spain.  The  emperor  would  believe 
that  he  was  paying  a  bribe  while  in  reality  he  would 
be  offering  a  free  gift.  The  game  was  the  easier  to 
play  since  the  Corsican  would  never  suspect  any  man 
of  preferring  his  country's  interest  to  his  own.  Yet 
Godoy  placed  Spain  first,  while  determined  to  make 
the  best  bargain  he  could  for  himself. 

Since  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  England  he 
had  maintained  a  private  agent  in  Paris.  This  was 
Don  Eugenio  Izquierdo,  a  man  of  science,  whom 
the  favourite  had  appointed  director  of  the  Cabinet 
of  Natural  History  at  Madrid.  He  is  admitted  by  all 
to  have  been  an  astute  and  far-sighted  diplomatist ; 
the  duchesse  d'Abrantes  found  that  his  atrociously 
ugly  countenance  concealed  a  nimble  mind  ;  and  he 
was,  above  all,  a  good  patriot,  though  this,  of  course, 
his  patron's  detractors  will  not  allow.  He  had  been 
the  intimate  of  Buffon  and  Lavoisier,  and  in  their 
society  had  met  Lacepede,  the  zoologist,  now  presi- 
dent of  the  Senate  and  chancellor  of  the  Legion  of 
Honour,  With  this  personage  the  Spanish  savant 
renewed  his  friendly  relations.  Through  them  a 
correspondence  was  carried  on  between  Napoleon 
and  Godoy,  behind  the  backs  of  the  Spanish  am- 
bassador   in    Paris    and    the    French    ambassador    at 


192  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

Madrid.  Godoy  had  little  confidence  in  the  repre- 
sentative of  his  Government,  the  prince  of  Masserano, 
who  had,  like  Azara,  a  marked  partiality  for  France  ; 
the  emperor  spoke  of  Beurnonville  as  "  a  trumpet 
which  can  keep  nothing  secret."  It  was  Izquierdo's 
role  to  represent  his  patron  as  Napoleon's  man  and 
to  extract  from  him  his  intentions  towards  Spain. 

He  appeared,  till  towards  the  end  of  his  mission, 
to  succeed.  Confident  in  his  power  to  mollify  the 
emperor,  Godoy  was  bold  enough  to  advise  the  king 
to  refuse  recognition  to  the  new  sovereign  of  Naples. 
Beurnonville  waxed  wroth.  Recognition  by  Spain, 
he  argued,  would  at  once  be  followed  by  recognition 
by  the  other  Powers  ;  it  was  then  necessary  to  France. 
Godoy  replied  that,  by  acquiescing  tacitly  in  his 
brother's  deposition,  Charles  IV.  had  done  all  that 
could  in  decency  and  honour  be  demanded  of  him. 
The  ambassador  proceeded  to  threats.  Etruria,  he 
reminded  the  Spaniard,  was  within  the  grasp  of  his 
imperial  majesty.  Finding  that  his  pistol  had  missed 
fire,  the  Frenchman  made  the  usual  appeal  to  the 
favourite's  self-interest.  Suppose  Charles  IV.  should 
die,  he  would  stand  in  need  of  the  emperor's  pro- 
tection then.  To  this  appeal  Godoy  remained  deaf. 
He  knew  how  little  Beurnonville  could  really  promise 
on  his  master's  behalf.  Charles  IV.  definitely  refused 
to  recognise  the  new  monarch,  and  merely  caused 
an  entry  to  be  made  in  the  official  almanac  that 
Joseph  Bonaparte  had  on  February  9  been  proclaimed 
king  of  Naples. 

Godoy  was  correct  in  his  calculations.  Napoleon 
was  not  in  a  position  to  resent  the  contumacy  of  his 
ally.     He  was  again  discussing  terms  of  peace  with 


The  Treaty  of  Fontainebleau  193 

England  through  Lord  Yarmouth  and  with  Russia 
through  M.  d'Oubril.  A  rupture  with  Spain  would 
have  stiffened  the  backs  of  both  these  Powers.  For  the 
moment  Etruria  was  spared.  Moreover,  Izquierdo 
adroitly  represented  his  patron  as  seeking  favours 
from  the  emperor,  in  return  for  which  he  no  doubt 
hinted  at  recognition  and  all  sorts  of  concessions  to 
France. 

Continually  threatened  by  the  French  diplomatists 
with  the  fate  in  store  for  him  under  Ferdinand  VII., 
the  Prince  of  the  Peace  pretended  to  listen  to  pro- 
jects "  relating  to  the  succession  to  the  crown  of 
Spain."  But  his  highness  expressed  himself  so  vaguely 
and  seemed  so  little  anxious  to  supplant  his  enemy 
that  Napoleon  at  last  wrote  (March  13,  1806)  :  "  The 
prince  must  say  what  he  wants."  To  which  the 
politic  Izquierdo  replied  :  "  The  prince,  proud  of 
having  occupied  for  some  moments  the  mind  of  your 
majesty — submits  his  destiny  to  your  will  and  .  .  . 
demands  ...  a  sovereignty  of  his  own  between 
Spain  and  Portugal." 

And  that  beyond  question  Godoy  did  want — a  state 
of  his  own,  such  as  Napoleon  was  everywhere  creating 
for  his  marshals,  where  he  might  serve  Spain  during 
the  life  of  Charles  IV.  and  defy  the  malice  of  Ferdi- 
nand VII.  ;  but,  to  gain  it,  he  was  not  prepared  to 
sacrifice  the  interests  of  his  country.  Since  the  end 
of  1804  Napoleon  had  been  clamouring  for  the 
arrears  of  the  subsidy  guaranteed  by  Spain,  which, 
counting  from  the  signature  of  the  treaty  to  King 
Charles's  declaration  of  war  against  England,  he 
estimated  at  seventy-two  millions  of  francs.  On 
May  10  Izquierdo   succeeded  in    settling  this    claim 


194  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

on  the  payment  of  twenty-four  millions.  This  seems 
a  good  stroke  of  business  for  Spain,  but  Toreno, 
and  other  historians  after  him,  talk  of  Godoy's  having 
robbed  his  country  of  the  sum  thus  paid  and 
suggest  that  it  was  a  bribe  to  Napoleon.  Most 
debtors  are  glad  enough  to  get  let  off  with  six  and 
eightpence  in  the  pound. 

It  looks  more  probable,  on  examination,  that  the 
concession  was  Napoleon's  and  that  it  was  intended 
to  humour  Godoy.  For  the  hint  about  a  princi- 
pality for  the  favourite  seems  to  have  proceeded 
from  a  suggestion  of  the  emperor's  own,  involving 
an  attack  upon  Portugal.  In  June  Izquierdo  was 
invited  to  meet  Duroc  at  St.  Cloud,  and  there  he  was 
handed  a  paper  containing  a  remarkable  scheme. 
Portugal  was  to  be  conquered  by  a  mixed  army  of 
French  and  Spanish,  and  then  to  be  divided  into 
three  parts  :  one  of  these  was  to  be  held  by  the 
king  of  Spain,  another  given  to  the  Prince  of  the 
Peace,  and  the  third  to  be  allotted  to  the  king  of 
Etruria  in  exchange  for  Tuscany.  The  House  of 
Braganga  was  to  be  sent  to  Brazil,  and  France  was  to 
receive  a  portion  of  the  Spanish  province  of  Biscay. 

The  advantage  to  France  under  this  arrangement 
is  so  patent  that  there  can  be  little  doubt  as  to  its 
authorship.  Godoy's  agent  promptly  replied  that 
no  Spaniard  would  ever  consent  to  the  alienation 
of  any  part  of  the  national  territory,  and  that  he 
was  not  prepared  to  discuss  the  translation  of  the 
king  of  Etruria  to  northern  Lusitania.  He  proposed, 
instead,  that  the  emperor  should  compensate  himself 
with  the  island  of  Madeira  and  the  Portuguese  colonies 
in  Africa.     To  establish  the  expelled  dynasty  in  Brazil 


DON    LUIS,     KING    OF    ETRURIA. 
(Goya) 


195 


The  Treaty  of  Fontainebleau  197 

would,  furthermore,  be  to  set  up  a  rival  empire  to 
Spain's  in  the  New  World.  These  objections  and 
proposals  were  referred  to  Talleyrand,  who  was 
empowered  only  to  waive  the  clause  stipulating  the 
cession  of  Spanish  territory.  Godoy  could  have 
the  royal  title  if  he  liked,  and  King  Charles  could 
take  that  of  emperor  of  Spain  and  the  Indies.  In 
conclusion,  the  minister  desired  an  immediate  answer. 

He  does  not  seem  to  have  got  it.  Ready  to  take 
a  principality  for  nothing,  Godoy  was  not  disposed 
to  have  it  on  the  emperor's  terms.  The  project  was 
dropped  for  a  time.  Napoleon  was  busy  with  his 
peace  negotiations.  Naples  was  the  chief  stumbling- 
block.  Neither  England  nor  Russia  would  forsake 
the  exiled  king.  Napoleon,  always  mindful  of  his 
allies,  proposed  to  compensate  him  with  the  Balearic 
Islands,  his  brother's  property.  It  was  to  gain 
Godoy's  consent  to  such  a  transfer,  I  suppose,  that 
he  had  offered  him  the  Portuguese  principality.  The 
scheme  fell  through.  D'Oubril,  the  Russian  pleni- 
potentiary, was  disgraced  by  the  Tsar,  England 
withdrew  from  the  conference,  and  in  September 
Prussia  and  Saxony  leagued  themselves  with  these 
Powers  in  the  war  against  France. 

Godoy  was  not  long  left  in  ignorance  of  the  em- 
peror's readiness  to  purchase  peace  with  a  portion  of 
his  ally's  dominions.  It  might  have  been  the  peace 
of  Amiens  over  again  !  The  favourite  saw  plainly 
through  Napoleon's  attempts  to  buy  him,  and  pro- 
bably doubted  if  he  would  ever  have  got  the  price 
of  his  treachery.  He  recalled  the  conqueror's  lately 
uttered  prophecy  that  his  dynasty  would  soon  be  the 
oldest  in  Europe,  his  observation  that,  without  the 
12 


198  Godoy:   the  Queen*s  Favourite 

south  the  roots  of  the  empire  could  not  be  firmly 
fixed. 

It  seemed  to  Godoy  that  the  time  had  come  to 
change  sides.  "  There  was  no  salvation  for  us,"  he 
writes,  "  but  to  unite  ourselves  with  Prussia  and 
Russia,  already  resolved  on  war.  My  hardest  task 
was  to  convince  Charles  IV.  of  the  hard  necessity 
imposed  on  Spain.  He  had  no  fear  for  himself,  but 
he  feared  for  his  people.  The  thought  that  a  reverse 
might  bring  down  on  them  such  a  burden  as  had 
overwhelmed  Austria  troubled  and  oppressed  his 
spirit  ;  but  he  saw  that  this  danger  menaced  sooner 
or  later,  and  that  it  was  his  duty  to  conjure  it.  He 
decided  then  on  war,  but  still  doubted  whether  this 
resource  was  inevitable  or  premature,  his  will  not 
being  as  firm  and  definite  as  was  necessary  in  such 
circumstances  to  work  resolutely.  One  of  his  strictest 
injunctions  was  to  undertake  no  engagements  or 
negotiations  with  any  power  that  might  com- 
promise us  with  France  in  case  the  Tsar  and  the 
king  of  Prussia,  as  was  not  impossible,  should 
compose  their  differences  with  the  emperor." 

Fortunately  Godoy  found  a  confidential  inter- 
mediary close  at  hand  in  the  Russian  ambassador, 
Baron  Gregory  Aleksandrovich  Stroganov.  This  diplo- 
matist was  in  love  with  the  countess  of  Ega,  the  wife 
of  the  Portuguese  minister.  "  In  her  salon  ardent 
sympathy  was  expressed  for  the  nations  which  had 
fallen  victims  to  the  ambition  of  Napoleon,  and  the 
woes  of  the  courts  of  Lisbon,  Berlin,  Vienna,  and 
Palermo  provoked  a  chivalrous  impulse  of  resistance, 
which  M.  Stroganov  had  private  reasons  for  making 
his    own."     Of    the    assistance    of    Portugal     Godoy 


The  Treaty  of  Fontainebleau  199 

was — through  the  Baron  perhaps — able  to  make  sure. 
The  princess  regent  of  that  country  held  far  more 
to  the  land  of  her  birth  than  to  that  of  her  adoption, 
and  cared  more  for  her  father  than  her  husband. 

Godoy  tells  us  that  he  shrank  from  entering  into 
any  direct  negotiation  with  Great  Britain.  He  did 
not  want  the  English  to  land  troops  in  the  peninsula  ; 
if  they  took  part  in  a  continental  war,  he  told  Stro- 
ganov  that  it  must  be  in  Italy  or  Holland.  He  says 
that  he  has  no  recollection  of  having  despatched  any 
envoy  to  London.  His  memory  was  at  fault ;  Toreno 
proves  it,  beyond  the  possibility  of  dispute. 

Towards  the  end  of  September  1806  Don  Agustin 
Arguelles  (afterwards  tutor  of  Isabella  II.)  was  sent 
for  by  Don  Manuel  Espinosa,  the  director  of  the 
consolidated  fund,  who  having  declared  that  the  war 
with  England  must  be  brought  to  a  close  or  bank- 
ruptcy would  infallibly  result,  said  that  he  had  advised 
the  Prince  of  the  Peace  to  send  him  on  a  secret 
mission  to  London  to  discuss  terms  unofficially.  Don 
Agustin  next  saw  Godoy  himself,  who  entrusted  him 
with  the  commission,  and  instructed  him  that  Spain 
would  impose  no  other  conditions  on  England  th^n 
an  indemnity  for  the  ships  seized  off  Cape  Santa 
Maria.  The  envoy  proceeded  by  way  of  Lisbon  and 
Falmouth  to  London  ;  but  he  achieved  nothing, 
either  because  of  the  disinclination  of  the  Foreign 
Office  to  treat  in  this  way  with  Godoy  or  because 
affairs  moved  too  rapidly.  In  denying  all  recollec- 
tion of  this  incident  in  his  old  age,  the  fallen  favourite 
cannot  be  suspected  of  any  desire  to  falsify  history, 
for  there  is  nothing  in  the  negotiation  in  the  least 
discreditable     to    him.      But,    even     according     to 


200  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

Arguelles's  version,  he  does  not  seem  to  have  done 
more  than  approve  a  project  which  was  really 
Espinosa's. 

For  a  struggle  with  the  greatest  military  power  in 
Europe  Spain  was  not  altogether  unprepared.  Thanks 
to  the  much-abused  Prince  of  the  Peace,  the  standing 
army  had  been  raised  to  100,000  men.  To  these 
could  be  added  some  40,000  provincial  militia  and 
forty  battalions  of  marines  and  bluejackets.  It  was 
estimated  that  60,000  volunteers  could  be  raised  to 
form  a  reserve.  Adding  an  auxiliary  force  of  30,000 
Portuguese,  Spain  could  put  into  the  field  a  force 
of  well  over  200,000  combatants,  to  take  Napoleon 
in  the  rear.  Meantime  the  armies  of  France  were 
marching  towards  the  Elbe,  ever  farther  and  farther 
from  the  Pyrenees. 

Spain  was  stirring  with  warlike  preparations.  There 
were  soldiers  marching  along  the  roads,  great  activity 
in  the  arsenals,  much  buying  of  horses  and  munitions 
of  war.  **  A  certain  sentiment  of  mystery  and 
chivalry  becomes  fashionable.  At  the  tertulias  of 
Madrid  the  gallants  appear  in  uniform,  take  farewells, 
exchange  solemn  vows.  At  the  Puerta  the  guitars 
are  strummed  to  military  airs,  the  naranjeras  adorn 
their  oranges  with  the  national  colours.  Under  the 
arcades  of  the  Plaza  Mayor  citizens  gravely  discuss 
problems  in  strategy  and  tactics.  At  the  Prado  the 
ladies  salute  passing  officers  with  their  fans  in  eloquent 
sympathy.  In  the  evening,  on  the  Retiro,  Castilian 
pride  dreams  under  the  stars  of  a  triumphant  father- 
land and  glory  recovered." 

So   much    Beurnonville  would    have   noticed   and 
have  quickly  sought  the  explanation.     But  Beurnon- 


The  Treaty  of  Fontainebleau  201 

ville  had  been  recalled  by  the  master  who  despised 
him,  and  in  his  place  sat  Vandeul,  a  charge  d'affaires, 
young  and  strangely  trustful.  He  was  the  easy  dupe 
of  Godoy.  Against  whom  were  these  demonstra- 
tions directed  ?  With  his  hand  before  his  mouth, 
the  prince  whispered  in  his  ear,  "  Portugal."  Van- 
deul gave  a  smile  of  comprehension.  Perhaps  he  had 
heard  something  about  the  favourite's  intrigue  for 
a  principality.  A  fortnight  later  Godoy  came  to 
him  again  :  "  Tell  not  a  soul  !  We  are  about  to 
recover  Gibraltar  !  "  The  Frenchman  wished  luck 
to  the  Spanish  arms.  But  when  Napoleon  was  on 
the  march  towards  the  Rhine,  the  Prince  of  the  Peace 
assumed  an  injured  air.  "  His  imperial  majesty 
knew  of  our  preparations,  yet  he  has  left  me  in  the 
dark  as  to  the  plan  of  campaign.  What  am  I  to  do 
with  our  troops  ?  "  Vandeul  was  not  surprised  to 
hear,  a  week  later,  that  after  all  Portugal  would  be 
the  object  of  attack. 

He  was,  therefore,  not  in  the  least  perturbed  by 
the  strange  proclamation  which  on  October  6  the 
Prince  of  the  Peace  addressed  to  his  countrymen. 
It  ran  :  "  In  circumstances  less  dangerous  than  the 
present  loyal  vassals  have  helped  their  sovereign  with 
gifts  and  supplies  proportionate  to  his  necessities. 
The  generosity  of  the  subject  towards  his  lord  is  the 
best  provision  in  anxiety.  The  kingdom  of  Anda- 
lusia, naturally  prolific  in  troop-horses — the  province 
of  Estremadura,  which  aided  Philip  V. — will  they  see 
with  patience  the  cavalry  of  the  king  of  Spain  reduced 
to  impotence  for  want  of  horses  ?  No,  it  is  not  to 
be  believed.  I  hope  that,  as  their  ancestors  served 
the  ancestors   of   the  king  with   men  and  horses,   so 


202  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

the  children  of  our  soil  will  assist  with  regiments 
and  companies  of  skilled  horsemen  to  serve  and 
defend  the  country  so  long  as  the  present  dangers 
threaten,  to  return  thereafter  with  glory  and  good 
fortune  to  the  repose  of  the  domestic  hearth.  Let 
each  one  dispute  for  the  laurels  of  victory  :  let  one, 
then,  attribute  to  his  own  arm  his  salvation,  another 
boast  his  chief,  let  all  attribute  to  themselves  with 
justice  the  safety  of  the  country.  Come  then,  my 
beloved  countrymen  ;  come  to  take  oath  beneath 
the  banners  of  the  most  beneficent  of  sovereigns  ! 
Come,  I  will  cover  you  with  the  mantle  of  gratitude, 
doing  homage  to  you  if  the  god  of  victories  shall 
grant  us  a  peace  as  long  and  happy  as  we  pray  for. 
Fear  and  perfidy  will  not  restrain  you — your  bosoms 
never  harboured  those  vices.  Come  :  and,  if  we  are 
not  forced  to  cross  swords  with  our  enemies,  you 
will  not  be  suspected  of  want  of  patriotism  and  honour 
for  having  failed  to  respond  to  my  call.  But,  if  my 
voice  cannot  rouse  in  you  the  desire  of  glory,  be 
yourselves  the  fathers  and  instructors  of  the  people 
to  whom  I  address  myself ;  may  the  duty  you  owe 
to  it  make  you  remember  what  you  owe  yourselves 
to  your  honour  and  the  religion  you  profess.- — ^The^ 
Prince  of  the  Peace." 

Godoy  was  assuredly  no  orator.  He  may  not 
have  dared  to  express  himself  clearly,  but  he  might 
have  veiled  his  real  intentions  under  a  better  literary 
style.  The  people  read  this  turgid  appeal  in  com- 
plete bewilderment.  It  was  apparently  a  call  to 
arms,  such  as  had  been  long  expected,  but  against 
whom  ?     Why,  too,  was  it  not  signed  by  the  king  ? 

While  they  wondered,  news  came  that  Napoleon 


The  Treaty  of  Fontainebleau  203 

had  utterly  crushed  the  Prussians  at  Jena  and  was 
marching  on  Berlin.  Charles  IV.  had  then  good 
reason  to  bless  the  dissimulation  of  his  favourite 
and  the  ambiguous  terms  of  the  proclamation.  Godoy 
hurried  to  Vandeul  and  congratulated  him  on  his 
master's  victory.  "  Before  proceeding  to  Germany," 
he  explained,  "  his  imperial  majesty  made  known  to 
me  his  projects.  The  forces  prepared  for  him  by 
his  loyal  ally,  Spain,  are  always  at  his  disposal.  To 
which  quarter  does  his  majesty  wish  they  should  be 
directed  ?  " 

The  French  agent  was  completely  deceived  by  this 
adroit  volte-face^  even  though  Charles  IV,  wore  a 
troubled  look  and  refrained  from  any  expressions  of 
satisfaction  at  the  battle  of  Jena.  This  reticence 
Vandeul  attributed  to  consideration  for  the  feelings 
of  the  Russian  and  Prussian  ambassadors.  The  true 
sentiments  of  the  court,  he  wrote,  were  voiced  by 
the  Prince  of  the  Peace.  His  highness  testified 
unequivocally  his  joy  at  the  emperor's  successes  and 
repeated  his  desire  for  his  majesty's  protection." 
This  explanation  was  so  friendly  that  the  prince  was 
able  to  speak  of  the  difficulties  placed  "  by  the  age 
of  the  king  and  certain  of  his  prejudices  in  the  way 
of  fulfilling  promises  made  to  the  emperor,  especially 
as   regarded  the  reorganisation  of  the  army." 

Did  the  wily  Spaniard  hoodwink  the  master  as 
well  as  the  man  ?  It  has  been  stated  that  Napoleon, 
on  hearing  of  Godoy's  proclamation  at  Berlin,  vowed 
then  and  there  the  destruction  of  the  Bourbon 
monarchy.  But  in  his  official  correspondence  he 
betrays  no  misgivings  as  to  the  good  faith  of  Spain. 
To  Cambaceres  he  wrote :  "  What  made  you  think 


204  Godoy:  the  Queen^s  Favourite 

that  Spain  had  entered  the  coalition  ?  We  are  on 
the  best  of  terms.  .  .  ."  To  Fouche  he  writes :  "  I 
don't  know  how  you  got  the  idea  that  Spain  was 
against  us.  It  is  a  wile  of  the  English  to  disturb  us." 
To  Izquierdo,  sent  post-haste  to  offer  Godoy's  con- 
gratulations, he  extended  a  cordial  welcome.  To 
General  Pardo  Figueroa,  the  Spanish  envoy  at  Berlin, 
he  was  at  pains  to  express  his  good-will  towards  King 
Charles  and  his  country,  going  on,  if  Godoy's  memory 
is  to  be  trusted,  to  admit  the  value  of  her  neighbour's 
friendship  to  France.  He  alluded,  however  (accord- 
ing to  the  same  authority),  to  the  suspicions  aroused 
in  some  quarters  by  the  recent  preparations,  and 
appeared  satisfied  with  Figueroa's  explanation  of 
these  as  provoked  by  the  arrival  of  a  powerful  English 
fleet  in  the  Tagus.  He  concluded  by  hoping  that 
Spain  would  force  Portugal  to  enter  into  his  new 
continental  system  of  a  boycott  of  all  English  goods. 
This  sudden  change  of  front  on  the  part  of  the 
Spanish  Government,  Godoy  would  have  us  believe 
was  in  every  way  repugnant  to  him.  He  saw  no 
reason  to  retreat  because  of  Jena.  The  Russians 
were  still  in  the  field,  Austria  was  ready  to  throw  her 
legions  into  the  balance  against  the  tyrant  of  Europe. 
It  was,  we  are  told,  the  king  that  lost  courage,  the 
partisans  of  the  prince  of  Asturias  that  persuaded  him 
to  sheathe  the  half-drawn  sword.  That  Charles 
was  averse  from  a  conflict  can  be  easily  credited, 
but  if  it  was  at  his  express  command  only  that  the 
generalissimo  disguised  his  previous  intentions  from 
the  French  emperor  we  can  only  say  that  his  highness 
played  his  part  extremely  well.  The  protestations  of 
fidelity  made  to  Vandeul  have  a  ring  of  genuineness. 


The  Treaty  of  Fontainebleau  205 

Godoy  was,  in  fact,  frightened  by  the  overthrow  of  his 
schemes.  He  implored  Charles  to  dismiss  him  from 
all  his  offices,  and  so  to  make  a  peace-offering  to  the 
offended  Colossus. 

He  was  undoubtedly  bitterly  disappointed  as  well 
as  alarmed.  He  truly  says  that  Spain  missed  the 
most  favourable  moment  to  strike  a  blow  for  her 
freedom.  "  From  that  hour  I  saw  King  Charles's 
crown  tremble  on  his  brow."  The  time  for  resistance 
having  passed,  it  remained  now  to  consider  how 
France  might  be  best  placated  and  conciliated. 

It  was  useless  any  longer  to  refuse  recognition  to 
the  new  king  of  Naples,  to  whom  a  charge  d'affaires 
was  now  accredited.  And,  whether  or  not  Napoleon 
had  referred  to  Portugal  in  his  talk  at  Berlin,  Godoy 
perceived  in  that  unfortunate  little  kingdom  a  means 
of  diverting  his  ambition  and  of  securing  some  com- 
pensation for  his  own  country's  misfortunes.  "  Na- 
poleon," he  warned  his  master,  "  will  crush  the 
dynasty  of  your  daughter's  husband.  Far  better,  as 
I  have  always  said,  that  Portugal  should  have  to  deal 
with  us  as  enemy  than  with  France.  Seize  upon 
Portugal  before  the  French  have  time  to  do  so. 
Once  in  our  grasp,  that  kingdom  can  be  held  as  a 
hostage  for  the  colonies  we  have  lost  to  England. 
It  will  not  be  possible  to  ignore  us  at  the  next  peace. 
The  crown  of  the  Bragangas  will  be  safer  in  your 
majesty's  keeping  than  in  Napoleon's.  Strike,  I  say, 
while  we  have  the  time." 

The  counsel  was  wise,  even  if  it  was  not  wholly 
disinterested.  A  part  of  Portugal,  as  a  semi-inde- 
pendent state  for  Godoy,  might  be  a  very  bad  thing 
for    Portugal,    but    no    bad    thing    for    Spain.     But 


2o6  Godoy :   the  Queen^s  Favourite 

Charles  was  no  more  anxious  to  hawk  at  the  sparrow 
than  at  the  eagle.  "  Pooh  !  "  he  said,  "  you  are 
too  suspicious,  Manuel.  The  emperor  is  a  man  of 
honour  and  wishes  us  well.  We  need  anticipate  no 
trouble."  He  signified  his  adhesion  to  the  conti- 
nental system  on  February  19,  1807,  and  assented  to 
his  ally's  demand  for  military  assistance.  A  corps 
of  16,000  men,  commanded  by  the  marquis  de  la 
Romana,  was  sent  to  serve  with  the  eagles  on  the 
distant  shores  of  the  Baltic.  Godoy  says  that  he 
was  able  to  secure  a  reduction  of  the  number  originally 
fixed  by  the  emperor.  He  did  not  scruple  to  join 
with  the  king  in  offering  the  victor  of  Jena  four 
superb  chargers  to  replace  the  one  killed  on  the  field. 
But,  as  he  had  foreseen,  no  concessions  or  peace- 
offerings  were  able  to  divert  Napoleon's  anger  from 
Portugal.  The  peace  of  Tilsit  was  no  sooner  con- 
cluded than  Charles  was  asked  to  co-operate  with 
the  French  in  an  attack  on  England's  staunchest  ally 
should  the  prince-regent  refuse  to  boycott  English 
goods.  Godoy  very  sensibly  instructed  the  Spanish 
minister  at  Lisbon — a  man  devoted  to  him — to  bring 
pressure  to  bear  on  the  Portuguese  Cabinet ;  mean- 
while, Stroganov,  for  the  sake  of  the  fine  eyes  of  the 
countess  of  Ega,  did  all  he  could  to  conciliate  Beau- 
harnais,  the  new  French  ambassador  at  Madrid.  It 
was  vain.  No  half-promises  could  satisfy  the 
emperor.  He  recalled  his  envoy  from  Lisbon,  and 
declared  war  against  Portugal  because  she  would  not 
declare  war  against  England.  An  army  of  30,000 
men  was  stationed  on  the  Gironde  under  the  com- 
mand of  Junot.  The  ambassador  of  Charles  IV. 
was  interrogated  as  to  his  master's  attitude. 


The  Treaty  of  Fontaineblcau  207 

Now  was  the  wisdom  of  Godoy's  plan  abundantly 
manifested.  Against  a  Portugal  already  conquered 
by  Spain,  France  could  have  found  no  pretext  for 
hostile  action.  She  could  have  had  no  excuse  for 
asking  a  passage  for  her  troops  through  Spanish 
territory.  Spain,  too,  would  have  been  in  a  position 
to  buy  England's  help  by  restoring  their  kingdom  to 
the  Bragan^as.  All  that  could  be  done  now  was  to 
sell  Spain's  assistance  to  France  on  the  best  possible 
terms. 

At  the  brilliant  court  of  Fontaineblcau  Izquierdo 
came  and  went.  To  him  and  not  to  the  shallow, 
showy  Prince  of  Masserano  the  defence  of  his  country's 
interests  was  entrusted.  The  emperor's  mind  was 
made  known  to  him  through  Duroc,  who  had  married 
the  daughter  of  the  wealthy  Spanish  banker  Hervas. 
Talleyrand  advised  his  master  to  take  the  provinces 
between  the  Pyrenees  and  Ebro  in  exchange  for 
Portugal  ;  Napoleon,  less  exacting  than  his  counsellor, 
demanded  a  strip  of  Biscay  as  far  as  San  Sebastian  and 
the  kingdom  of  Etruria. 

The  ugly  little  Spaniard  assured  Duroc  that  the 
Prince  of  the  Peace  had  ordered  him  to  sign  any 
treaty  which  might  be  agreeable  to  the  emperor. 
This  order,  I  imagine,  was  accompanied  by  private 
instructions  of  a  very  different  tenor.  With  the 
utmost  reluctance  Izquierdo  consented  to  part  with 
Etruria,  which,  for  that  matter,  was  already  occupied 
by  French  troops ;  but  of  Spanish  soil  he  would  not 
yield  an  inch.  The  famous  treaty  of  Fontaineblcau, 
when  finally  drafted,  contained  fourteen  articles. 
Etruria  was  to  be  given  to  France  in  exchange  for 
the  two  northernmost  provinces  of  Portugal ;  Alem- 


2o8  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

tejo  and  Algarve  were  to  be  constituted  into  a  princi- 
pality for  Godoy ;  both  these  States  were  to  be 
under  the  suzerainty  of  Spain ;  the  two  central 
provinces  were  to  be  disposed  of  at  the  conclusion  of 
a  general  peace  ;  the  Portuguese  colonies  were  to  be 
divided  between  France  and  Spain  ;  King  Charles 
was  free  to  take  the  title  of  Emperor  of  the  Two 
Americas ;  and  France  absolutely  guaranteed  to  him 
the  possession  of  his  European  dominions. 

By  a  secret  convention  attached  to  the  treaty  a 
French  army  of  twenty-eight  thousand  men  was  to 
be  allowed  a  passage  across  Spain  to  Lisbon,  where 
it  was  to  be  joined  by  a  Spanish  force  of  the  same 
strength — this  allied  army  was  to  be  commanded  by 
a  French  general,  unless  the  king  of  Spain  or  the 
Prince  of  the  Peace  took  the  field  in  person  ;  the 
north  and  south  of  Portugal  were  to  be  simultaneously 
invaded  by  two  Spanish  armies  ;  and  a  second  French 
army,  forty  thousand  strong,  was  to  be  held  in  reserve 
at  Bayonne,  to  enter  the  peninsula  only  in  the  event 
of  an  attack  by  England  and  at  the  request  of  Spain. 

On  the  face  of  it,  this  treaty  was  a  good  one  for 
Spain.  The  sister  kingdom  had  always  been  a  source 
of  weakness  to  her.  She  was  better  able  to  protect 
a  vassal  prince  on  the  Douro  than  under  the  Apen- 
nines. Whatever  the  title  of  Emperor  of  the  Two 
Americas  might  be  worth,  there  was  no  doubt  about 
the  value  of  a  moiety  of  the  vast  Portuguese  empire 
over-seas.  The  central  provinces  of  the  conquered 
kingdom  might  very  well  be  repurchased  by  England 
for  the  Bragangas  with  Trinidad  or  Gibraltar — 
there  was  certainly  no  fear,  at  the  general  peace,  of 
their  being   confirmed  in   the  possession   of   France. 


The  Treaty  of  Fontainebleau  209 

The  recent  example  of  Poland  had  accustomed 
sovereigns  to  the  violent  dismemberment  of  their 
neighbours'  kingdoms. 

But  the  sting  of  the  treaty  lay  in  the  secret  articles. 
It  flung  open  the  door  of  Spain  to  seventy  thousand 
French  soldiers.  True,  a  French  army  had  traversed 
the  country  in  the  previous  campaign  against  Portugal 
six  years  before,  and  had  in  due  course  been  with- 
drawn in  accordance  with  the  convention.  It  is  easy 
to  be  wise  after  the  event.  If  the  French  had  not 
been  accorded  a  passage,  they  would  have  forced  it ; 
and  the  Spaniards  granted  it  probably  with  no  more 
misgivings  than  when  they  admitted  the  English 
armies  to  the  peninsula  twelve  months  later  or  a 
hundred  years  before. 


CHAPTER   XII 

PRINCE    AND    AMBASSADOR 

However  advantageous  to  Spain  the  treaty  of  Fon- 
tainebleau  may  on  the  surface  have  appeared,  it  is 
doubtful  if  the  fear  of  Napoleon  alone  would  have 
induced  Godoy  to  approve  it.  Striving  to  keep  the 
interests  of  his  country  in  the  foreground,  he  must 
have  been  constantly  reminded,  by  the  increasing 
opposition  in  the  king's  household,  of  the  uncertainty 
of  his  own  future.  On  the  one  hand  was  the  mighty 
emperor,  lavish  of  promises  to  him  and  to  Spain, 
on  the  other  the  prince  of  Asturias,  determined  to 
ruin  him,  and  by  his  supposed  intrigues  with  Eng- 
land apparently  endangering  the  independence  of  the 
country. 

That  Godoy  would  gladly  have  retired  at  this  epoch 
I  can  readily  believe.  He  was  possessed  of  enormous 
wealth,  he  had  attained  rank  second  only  to  a  king's. 
Abroad,  too,  he  might  be  free  of  the  detested  wife 
forced  on  him  by  Charles,  who  hated  him  so  much 
that,  as  she  told  the  duchesse  d'Abrantes,  she  loathed 
their  only  child  because  it  was  his.  But  his  sovereign 
would  not  let  him  go,  and  Napoleon  would  have 
offered  him  no  refuge  had  he  forsaken  his  post.  His 
only  chance  of  salvation,  then,  lay  in  the  loyal  execu- 
tion of    the  treaty,  which  was  to   secure   Spain  the 

2IO 


Prince  and  Ambassador  211 

long-coveted  Lusitanian  shore  and  him  an  honourable 
asylum. 

"  It  was  precisely  at  this  moment,"  remarks  the 
favourite  bitterly,  "  that  I  was  supposed  to  be  at 
the  zenith  of  my  power."  Charles  IV.  revived  in 
his  favour  the  splendid  dignity  of  grand  admiral  of 
Spain  and  the  Indies,  formerly  held,  under  Ferdi- 
nand III.,  by  Ramon  Bonifaz,  and  under  Charles  V. 
and  Philip  IV.  by  the  two  Don  Johns.  The  office 
was  not  without  utility  to  the  public  service.  The 
Navy  could  not  have  fared  worse  than  under  the 
decentralised  administration  of  the  last  three  reigns, 
and  the  man  who,  it  is  admitted  by  his  enemies,  had 
reformed  the  army  might  do  something  for  the  sister 
service.  Despite  the  alleged  universal  unpopularity 
of  Godoy,  the  occasion  of  this  appointment  was 
the  signal  for  public  demonstrations  of  satisfaction. 
The  streets  of  the  capital  were  illuminated,  the 
theatres  were  opened  free ;  regiments,  corporations, 
and  societies  presented  addresses  to  the  new  grand 
adm.iral.  He  was  the  object  of  a  grand  serenade  in 
the  courtyard  of  Aranjuez. 

"  The  demonstration,"  he  observes,  "  was  rather 
addressed  to  their  majesties  than  to  me,  for  I  was 
nothing  but  their  creature.  Nevertheless,  the  prince 
of  Asturias  took  offence  at  it ;  it  seemed  to  him  that 
he  was  slighted.  Almost  within  earshot  of  the  king, 
he  remarked  to  his  brother,  Carlos,  *  Godoy,  my 
subject,  steals  the  affections  of  my  people  and  robs  me 
of  their  homage.'  The  younger  prince  answered, 
'  Never  mind,  the  more  they  give  him,  the  more 
presently  you  will  be  able  to  take  from  him.'  Charles 
IV.    and    Maria    Luisa    heard    nothing    that    passed 


212  Godoy  :  the  Queen's  Favourite 

between  their  sons,  but  I  did  not  fail  to  be  informed 
of  it." 

It  is  impossible  to  refuse  some  measure  of  sympathy 
to  this  prince,  who  afterwards  became  the  worst  king 
that  ever  sat  on  a  throne.  Denied  all  share  in  the 
direction  of  the  State  which  was  one  day  to  be  his, 
raised  by  his  dignity  above  all  friendly  intercourse 
with  the  grandees  of  the  realm,  his  youth  was  passed  in 
obscurity  and  inaction,  in  doing  nothing  or  watching 
others  do  a  little  more  than  nothing.  His  days  were 
regulated  by  strict  routine.  After  mass  he  might 
receive  visits.  At  half-past  eleven  he  went  to  pay  his 
respects  to  the  king,  with  whom  he  stayed  till 
dinner.  This  meal  each  prince  took  separately  in  his 
own  apartments.  In  the  afternoon  the  members  of 
the  royal  family  drove,  each  by  himself,  in  the  Paseo, 
escorted  by  a  troop  of  guards.  The  official  day  con- 
cluded with  another  visit  of  respect  to  the  monarch, 
after  which  the  princes  could  entertain  friends  in  their 
own  apartments. 

Like  all  the  princes  of  his  nation,  he  was  forced 
to  find  relaxation  in  the  company  of  his  menial 
attendants,  who,  it  may  be  imagined,  never  tired  of 
pouring  into  his  ears  all  the  scandalous  gossip  of  the 
backstairs  and  kitchen.  That  he  should  hate  the 
suspected  lover  of  his  mother  was  natural  enough  ; 
next,  to  believe  him  to  be  plotting  against  his  rights 
was  not  difficult.  It  is,  in  fact,  persistently  asserted 
that  there  had  been  some  talk  of  excluding  the  prince 
from  the  succession  to  the  throne.  Lord  Holland 
heard  that  the  Council  of  Castile  was  consulted  as 
to  the  proposal  in  1804,  and  delivered  the  reply  that 
there  was   no  known   authority  which  could  deprive 


QUEEN    MARIA    LUISA. 

(Goya) 


213 


Prince  and  Ambassador  215 

of  his  right  of  succession  a  prince  of  Asturias  "  duly 
sworn,  married,  and  honoured." 

There  were,  at  least,  and  have  been  since,  many- 
precedents  for  altering  the  succession.  Charles  III.'s 
first-born  son,  older  by  a  year  than  the  second,  had 
at  once  been  set  aside  as  ineligible  on  the  score  of 
idiocy ;  and,  immediately  after  his  accession,  Charles 
IV.  had  obtained,  in  a  secret  session  of  the  Cortes,  the 
revocation  of  the  Pragmatic  Sanction,  or  Salic  Law  of 
1 71 3,  and  so  rendered  his  eldest  daughter,  the  princess 
of  Portugal,  eligible  to  succeed  in  default  of  male  heirs. 
It  was  of  this  act  that  Ferdinand  availed  himself  in 
after-years  to  set  aside  his  brother  Carlos  in  favour  of 
his  daughter  Isabella.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that 
Charles  IV.  was  quite  capable  of  conceiving  the  pro- 
posal said  to  have  been  submitted  to  the  Council, 
without  any  inspiration  from  Godoy ;  nor  is  it  easy 
to  see  what  the  favourite  could  have  hoped  to  gain 
by  it,  as  the  next  heir,  the  infante  Carlos,  was  as  much 
his  enemy  as  Ferdinand. 

The  proposal,  it  is  safe  to  say,  never  was  made. 
During  the  brief  but  dangerous  illness  of  King  Charles 
in  September  1801  Azara  told  Napoleon  that  his 
majesty  had  signed  a  v^ill  appointing  his  wife  and 
Godoy  regents  till  such  time  as  his  son  appeared  to 
be  capable  of  managing  affairs.  The  First  Consul, 
at  that  time  highly  incensed  against  the  favourite, 
announced  that  he  would  support  the  right  of  the 
prince  of  Asturias  by  force  if  necessary;  and,  three 
months  later,  ordered  Beurnonville  to  frequent  his 
highness's  society  and  to  assure  him  that  France 
would  recognise  no  other  successor  to  the  throne 
than  he.     Doubt  has  been  cast  even  on  this  story. 

13 


2i6  Godoy:   the  Queen*s  Favourite 

Azara  disliked  Godoy,  his  correspondent  at  Aranjuez 
may  have  been  deluded,  Napoleon  had  at  this  time 
every  motive  for  wishing  to  discredit  Godoy  in  the 
eyes  of  his  countrymen. 

Of  course  it  is  possible  that  Charles,  recognising 
the  disagreeable  qualities  of  his  heir,  might  have 
thought  fit  to  postpone  his  assumption  of  the  govern- 
ment till  an  age  much  higher  than  that  fixed  by  law. 
The  wife  of  John  IV.  of  Portugal  acted  as  regent  for 
her  son,  Affonso  VI.,  till  he  was  twenty-four  years 
of  age.  The  will  may  have  designated  the  queen  as 
regent,  and  Godoy^s  enemies  would  have  jumped  at 
once  to  the  conclusion  that  this  included  him.  This 
proposal,  perhaps,  was  the  one  rejected  by  the  Council 
of  Castile.  Napoleon,  four  years  later,  found  it 
politic  to  revive  these  rumours,  and  announced  himself 
ready  to  discuss  the  succession  to  the  throne  of  Spain. 
Godoy,  as  we  know,  listened  politely  and  finally 
demanded  a  principality  for  himself  between  Spain 
and  Portugal. 

Ferdinand,  notwithstanding,  professed  to  believe 
that  the  favourite  aimed  at  nothing  less  than  dis- 
inheriting him.  Unable  to  convince  him  of  his 
error,  Godoy  was  thrown  on  the  defensive.  He 
watched  his  enemy  narrowly.  In  1806  lights  were 
observed  in  the  prince's  chamber  till  a  very  late 
hour.  This  was  disquieting,  but  the  explanation 
was  soon  forthcoming.  His  royal  highness,  one  day, 
presented  his  father  with  a  handsomely  bound  volume. 
It  was  the  "  Roman  Revolutions  "  of  Vertot,  translated 
from  the  French  by  the  prince  himself.  Charles 
was  by  no  means  pleased  at  this  display  of  literary 
activity  on  the  part  of  his  son.     The  word  "  revolu- 


Prince  and  Ambassador  217 

tlon  "  sent  a  tremour  through  him  ;  moreover,  sus- 
pecting the  translator  of  very  indifferent  skill,  he 
feared  the  dissemination  of  the  work  might  bring  the 
royal  family  into  contempt.  Ferdinand  was  very 
unfairly  censored,  and  the  book  withdrawn. 

Presently  this  storm  in  an  inkpot  assumed  more 
serious  proportions.  The  slanderous  report  that  he 
was  responsible  for  the  princess's  death  goaded  the 
generalissimo  into  an  armed  reconnaissance  into  her 
husband's  quarters.  He  found  an  instrument  ready 
to  his  hand  in  one  Martras,  who,  having  been  rebuffed 
by  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  prince's  former  atten- 
dants, went  about  denouncing  them  all  as  conspirators. 
The  princess  had  hardly  been  locked  in  her  last  resting- 
place  at  the  Escurial  before  the  exasperated  Godoyacted 
upon  these  wild  allegations  and  pounced  down  upon 
Moreno,  assistant  to  his  highness's  barber.  Moreno, 
who  was  soon  joined  by  several  of  his  fellow  domestics, 
was  interrogated  by  the  police  magistrate,  Marquina 
Galindo,  as  to  what  he  did  during  the  long  hours 
that  he  was  closeted  with  his  master.  He  replied 
that  he  was  permitted  to  assist  in  his  highness's 
studies  and  at  his  chemical  experiments.  Much  of 
the  time  spent  by  the  strangely  assorted  pair  had 
been  devoted  to  the  vetoed  translation.  The  examin- 
ing magistrate  was  not  satisfied  with  this  account 
of  the  accused's  occupation,  and,  by  order  of  the 
minister  Caballero,  put  him  to  the  torture.  Nothing 
seems  to  have  been  proved  against  the  unfortunate 
lackeys,  but  in  the  end  they  were  sentenced  to  deporta- 
tion to  their  native  places  and  in  some  cases  to  the 
colonies.  As  the  English  fleet  held  the  seas,  how- 
ever, none  of  them  was  able  to  leave  Spain. 


21 8  Godoy:   the  Quecn^s  Favourite 

The  responsibility  for  this  prosecution  cannot  be 
fastened  exclusively  on  Godoy.  It  was  not  till  twelve 
months  later  that  the  king,  alarmed  by  the  continu- 
ance of  intrigues  under  his  own  roof,  appointed  him 
commandant  and  inspector  of  the  royal  household — • 
a  post  more  really  powerful  than  that  of  Grand 
Admiral,  or  of  president  of  the  Council,  to  which  he 
was  at  the  same  time  elevated.  The  guards  in  the 
interior  of  the  palace  thus  came  under  his  orders. 
Doubting  either  their  utility  from  his  personal  ex- 
perience, or  their  attachment  to  him  who  had  risen 
from  their  ranks,  he  reduced  their  strength  by  one- 
third.  He  put  his  friend,  the  duke  del  Parque,  at 
the  head  of  the  Garde  de  Corps  and  his  brother 
Diego  in  command  of  the  Walloon  guard. 

From  time  to  time  the  French  ambassadors  an- 
nounced the  dismissal  or  banishment  of  officials  and 
grandees  :  the  duke  of  Villafranca,  the  countess  of 
Montijo,  the  count  of  Miranda  are  said  to  have 
been  put  under  the  ban  on  account  of  their  attach- 
ment to  the  late  princess  of  Asturias ;  the  marquis 
of  Abadid  and  the  duke  of  San  Carlos  were  ordered 
to  reside  on  their  estates  simply,  we  are  to  believe, 
because  they  were  friends  of  the  heir-apparent.  It 
is  to  be  supposed  that  the  Prince  of  the  Peace  would 
have  taken  all  measures  to  avert  his  threatened  down- 
fall, and  the  result  proved  that  his  royal  highnesses 
counsellors  were  capable  of  doing  incalculable  mischief 
to  him  and  to  Spain  ;  but,  if  a  rogue  was  laid  by 
the  heels  for  picking  pockets,  there  were  people 
ready  to  see  in  his  punishment  the  malice  of  the 
favourite  against  his  master's  heir. 

Standing  in  fear  of  his  father's  favourite,  Ferdinand 


Prince  and  Ambassador  219 

looked  round  for  a  protector.  Maria  Antonia  was 
no  longer  there  to  envenom  his  mind  against  France. 
But  Escoiquiz  came  and  went  between  Toledo  and 
Madrid,  meeting  his  former  pupil  In  secret  at  the 
house  of  a  person  in  the  prince's  confidence.  The 
canon  did  not  yield  to  Charles  IV.  in  his  admiration 
for  the  emperor  of  the  French — to  the  ecclesiastical 
imagination  the  oppressor  of  the  Papacy  seemed  the 
restorer  of  religion,  the  champion  of  order,  a  hero  of 
antiquity  come  to  chain  the  hydra  of  the  revolution. 
The  prince  of  Asturlas,  accustomed  by  his  late  wife 
to  look  on  his  father's  ally  as  a  monster,  now  began 
to  see  him  in  this  more  favourable  light.  Godoy, 
whispered  Escoiquiz,  held  only  by  the  favour  of  the 
emperor.  The  heir-apparent  of  Spain  would  be  a 
more  valuable  ally  to  his  majesty  than  this  accursed 
upstart.  How  great  a  thing  it  would  be  to  rob  Godoy 
of  his  protector — to  beat  him  with  the  sceptre  to 
which  he  trusted !  Let  his  royal  highness  think 
on  it. 

He  did  think  on  it,  so  much  that  he  awaited  the 
coming  of  the  new  ambassador  from  the  Tuileries 
as  that  of  a  deliverer.  Fortune  served  his  turn. 
The  new  envoy  was  In  a  sense  a  member  of  the  im- 
perial family.  "  Francois  de  Beauharnais,  son  of  the 
marquis  de  la  Ferte  Beauharnais,  commodore  and 
governor  of  Guadeloupe,  was  no  one  less  than  the 
brother-in-law  of  the  Empress  Josephine.  Married 
a  second  time  to  the  Baroness  Cohausen,  by  his  first 
union  with  his  cousin,  Marie  de  Beauharnais,  he 
had  a  daughter  whose  conjugal  devotion  was  one  day 
to  be  renowned — the  comtesse  de  Lavalette.  Perhaps 
he  had  not  troubled  too  much  about  his  sister-in-law 


220  Godoy  :  the  Queen's  Favourite 

during  the  dark  days  of  the  revolution  and  the  gay- 
times  of  the  Directory,  but  amid  the  splendours  of 
the  Consulate  he  discovered  himself  as  an  excellent 
kinsman,  and  Josephine  showed  herself  no  less  friendly 
to  him  than  to  the  other  members  of  her  family. 

"  Obviously  something  had  to  be  done,  and  something 
handsome,  for  this  deml-seml-brother-In-law  of  the 
emperor.  An  embassy  was  clearly  the  thing :  he 
was  appointed  plenipotentiary  to  the  queen  of  Etrurla. 
From  the  little  Florentine  court  of  the  king  of  Spain's 
daughter  he  was  summoned  to  become  ambassador 
to  the  king  of  Spain  himself.  A  brief  stay  at  Paris 
— just  time  enough  to  receive  the  Legion  of  Honour 
and  the  Order  of  the  Iron  Crown — and  he  passed, 
delighted  with  his  good  fortune,  from  the  banks  of 
the  Arno  to  those  of  the  Manzanares.  He  reached 
Madrid  on  December  23,  1806."  ^ 

Inordinately  proud  of  his  connection  with  the 
mushroom  dynasty  of  Bonaparte,  this  diplomatist 
was  full  of  contempt  for  the  parvenu  Godoy.  He 
mistrusted  the  Spaniard's  exaggerated  affability,  he 
doubted  his  sincerity,  he  spoke  of  him  as  a  man  from 
whom  more  might  be  obtained  by  firmness  than 
by  persuasion  or  argument.  Later  on,  we  are  told 
by  M.  de  Grandmalson,  this  ambassador  cannot  bring 
himself  to  address  the  Prince  of  the  Peace  by  the 
title  of  "  highness "  conferred  on  him  long  since. 

"  No  one  is  freer  than  I,"  writes  Godoy,  "  no  one 
loves  better  that  virtue  of  frankness  to  which  every  one 
lays  claim.  Nevertheless  ...  In  the  course  of  our 
official  correspondence  I  have  noticed  that  your 
excellency  disdains  formality  and  is  not  concerned  to 
^  Grandmaison  :    "  L'Espagne  et  Napoleon." 


Prince  and  Ambassador  221 

grant  me  that  title  which  my  sovereign  has  accorded 
me,  and  which  his  imperial  majesty  himself  uses  in 
addressing  me.  If  this  were  a  friendly  correspondence 
I  should  be  charmed  by  the  honour  which  your 
excellency  does  me  in  treating  me  thus  familiarly ; 
but,  as  it  is  official  and  must  often  be  submitted  to 
the  sovereign,  I  think  it  would  be  better  to  adhere 
to  the  formalities  of  address."  Beauharnais  thought 
otherwise ;  Godoy  dropped  the  "  excellency "  and 
addressed  him  as  "  my  dear  ambassador  "  ;  Talley- 
rand had  to  intervene  and  to  remind  the  French 
representative  that  he  must  recognise  the  dignities 
conferred  by  the  sovereign  to  whom  he  was  accredited. 

Smarting  under  this  rebuke,  Beauharnais  listened 
readily  to  the  overtures  made  by  two  gentlemen  of 
Ferdinand's  household,  Don  Juan  Villena  and  Don 
Pedro  Giraldo.  By  them  he  was  introduced  to 
Escoiquiz.  His  reverence  drew  the  most  affecting 
picture  of  the  prince  of  Asturias,  almost  a  prisoner 
in  his  father's  palace,  in  danger  of  being  stripped  of 
his  inheritance  by  the  insolent  favourite  whom  his 
excellency  had  so  properly  snubbed.  These  advances 
were  as  surprising  as  they  were  gratifying  to  the 
Frenchman,  who  had  been  given  to  understand  at 
Paris  that  Ferdinand  was  the  avowed  enemy  of 
France  and  the  partisan  of  England.  There  were 
secret  interviews  between  the  ambassador  and  the 
canon  under  the  trees  in  the  Retiro.  "  Mind,"  said 
his  reverence,  "  Ferdinand's  the  friend — not  Godoy." 

Beauharnais  was  fain  to  believe  it  ;  but  how 
cement  this  friendship  ?  Escoiquiz  proposed  a  start- 
ling plan.  There  had  been  a  scene  at  the  palace. 
To  secure  his  favourite's  future,  to  put  an  end  to 


222  Godoyi  the  Queen's  Favourite 

the  schism  in  his  household,  the  king  had  suggested 
that  his  son  should  take,  as  his  second  wife,  the  younger 
daughter  of  his  uncle,  Luis  de  Bourbon,  the  sister 
of  Godoy's  wife.  '*  What !  "  cried  Ferdinand,  "  why, 
I  would  rather  remain  a  widower  all  the  rest  of  my 
life' — I  would  rather  be  a  monk — than  become  the 
brother-in-law  of  Manuel  Godoy !  "  Ambassador 
and  ecclesiastic  approved  this  manly  outburst.  In- 
stead of  the  sister  of  the  Princess  of  the  Peace,  the 
canon  proposed  that  his  royal  highness  should  seek 
a  bride  in  the  family  of  his  imperial  majesty. 

"  Excellent !  "  cried  Beauharnais ;  and,  with  what 
his  countryman  (Grandmaison)  calls  superb  aplomb,  he 
promptly  suggested  his  cousin,  and  Josephine's,  Made- 
moiselle Marie  Rose  Tascher  de  la  Pagerie.  She  was  a 
charming  person,  just  nineteen  years  of  age — an  ideal 
match  for  his  highness.  Escoiquiz  thought  so  too.  As 
has  been  suggested,  he  was  probably  not  well  informed 
as  to  the  imperial  genealogy,  and  vaguely  supposed 
that  a  cousin  of  the  empress  might  be  related  to  the 
emperor  also.  Beauharnais  at  once  wrote  to  Paris, 
extolling  the  virtues  of  the  prince  of  Asturias.  "  He 
solicits  on  his  knees,"  he  declared,  "  the  protection 
of  his  majesty,  and  will  accept  a  spouse  only  from  his 
hand.  The  young  prince  has  complete  confidence 
in  the  hero  who  governs  us  :  he  will  do  absolutely 
whatever  the  emperor  wishes.  This  I  can  assure  you 
positively."  Not  satisfied  with  such  emphatic  assur- 
ances, the  emperor's  foreign  minister  demanded 
further  particulars.  Very  diffidently  the  ambassador 
mentioned  the  name  of  Mademoiselle  de  la  Pagerie. 

Napoleon,    deep    in    negotiations  with    Izquierdo, 
had  no  thought  of  imperilling  his  treaty  by  a  rupture 


Prince  and  Ambassador  223 

with  Godoy  in  order  to  advance  the  interests  of  his 
wife's  relations.  On  October  7,  1801,  he  ordered 
Champagny  to  rebuke  his  indiscreet  representative, 
whose  "  intrigues  appeared  to  him  unworthy  of  an 
ambassador  and  likely  to  betray  him  into  dangerous 
snares." 

His  master,  Beauharnais  must  have  remembered, 
had  not  always  been  so  nice.  At  any  rate,  it  was  not 
he,  the  ambassador,  who  had  stumbled  into  a  pitfall, 
but  the  prince  of  Asturias.  Pressed  most  probably 
by  his  excellency,  perhaps  by  Escoiquiz,  Ferdinand 
had  rashly  committed  his  desires  to  writing. 

"  Sire  " — thus  the  prince  addressed  the  emperor — 
"  the  fear  of  incommoding  your  majesty  in  the  midst 
of  the  exploits  and  great  affairs  which  occupy  you 
without  intermission  has  prevented  me  till  now  .  .  . 
expressing,  at  least,  in  writing  the  sentiments  of 
respect,  esteem,  and  attachment  which  I  feel  for  a 
hero  .  .  .  sent  by  Providence  to  save  Europe  from 
a  general  upheaval,  to  steady  shaken  thrones,  and  to 
restore  to  nations  peace  and  happiness. 

"  The  position  in  which  I  have  for  some  time  past 
found  myself,  and  which  cannot  have  escaped  the 
penetration  of  your  majesty,  has  been  till  now  a 
second  obstacle  .  .  .  ;  but,  full  of  confidence  in  the 
protection  of  your  majesty,  I  am  determined  .  .  . 
to  throw  myself  into  your  bosom  as  into  that  of  a 
tender  father.  It  is  indeed  unfortunate  that  I  should 
be  obliged  to  conceal  as  a  crime  a  step  so  just  and 
praiseworthy,  but  such  are  the  fatal  consequences 
of  the  kindness  of  the  best  kings. 

*'  Filled  with  respect  and  filial  affection  for  the 
author  of  my  being,  I  would  dare  to  tell  your  ma- 


?24  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

jesty  only  what  is  already  known  to  you — that  these 
estimable  qualities  are  often  the  means  by  which 
artful  and  wicked  persons  throw  dust  in  the  eyes  of 
sovereigns  like  my  respected  father. 

"  If  these  men  let  him  know  the  character  of  your 
majesty  as  I  know  it,  with  what  ardour  would  he  not 
seek  to  tighten  the  bonds  which  unite  our  two  houses ! 
And  what  more  proper  means  than  to  demand  of 
your  majesty  the  honour  of  allying  myself  with  a 
princess  of  your  august  family  ?  Such  is  the  desire 
of  all  my  father's  subjects ;  it  will  also  be  his,  I  do 
not  doubt,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  a  few  evil-minded 
persons,  so  soon  as  he  knows  the  intentions  of  your 
majesty.  It  is  all  that  my  heart  desires  ;  but  it  is 
not  according  to  the  calculations  of  the  perfidious 
egotists  that  surround  him,  and  they  may  at  the  first 
assault  surprise  him.  These  are  the  grounds  of  my 
fears. 

*'  It  is  only  their  respect  for  your  majesty  that  can 
open  the  eyes  of  my  good  and  well-beloved  parents, 
make  them  happy,  and  secure  the  nation's  happiness 
and  mine.  The  whole  world  will  admire  the  kindness 
of  your  majesty,  who  will  always  have  in  me  a  most 
grateful  and  devoted  son. 

"  With  the  utmost  confidence  I  implore,  then,  your 
paternal  protection,  hoping  that  you  will  not  only 
deign  to  accord  me  the  honour  of  an  alliance,  but  that 
you  will  remove  all  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
fulfilment  of  this  wish.  This  act  of  kindness  on  the 
part  of  your  majesty  is  the  more  necessary  as  I  cannot, 
on  my  part,  make  the  least  effort,  since  it  would  be 
perhaps  represented  as  an  insult  to  paternal  authority ; 
and  I  am  reduced  solely  to  refusing,  as  I  shall  refuse 


Prince  and  Ambassador  225 

with  invincible  constancy,  to  ally  myself  with  any 
person,  whatsoever  she  may  be,  without  the  consent 
and  positive  approbation  of  your  majesty,  from  whom 
I  await  the  selection  of  my  bride. 

"  Written  and  signed  with  my  own  hand,  under  my 
own  seal,  at  the  Escurial,  October  11,  1807. — 
Ferdinand." 

This  letter  Inviting  the  intervention  of  a  foreign 
power  in  the  internal  affairs  of  the  father  of  the 
writer's  kingdom,  was  received  by  M.  de  Beauharnais 
with  unqualified  satisfaction.  Here  was  the  answer 
to  his  master's  reprimand ;  but  the  difficulty  of 
finding  an  absolutely  trustworthy  messenger  forced 
him  to  delay  its  transmission  till  the  19th  or  20th  of 
the  month.  It  was  not  till  the  last  days  of  October 
that  Napoleon  read  it.  The  messenger  had  met  the 
French  columns  traversing  Castile  on  their  way 
to  attack  Portugal,  nine  days  before  the  execution  of 
the  treaty  of  Fontainebleau. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE    CONSPIRACY    OF   THE   ESCURIAL 

While  Godoy  lay  sick  of  a  fever  at  Madrid  and  Junot's 
army  was  tramping  along  the  dusty  Spanish  roads, 
Charles  IV.  and  his  family  were  assembled  in  that 
gloomy  palace  -  mausoleum  dedicated  by  Philip  II. 
to  the  majesty  of  death.  Something  of  the  genius  of 
the  great  fanatic  king  seems  instinct  in  the  vast  pile, 
but  little  enough  of  it  was  communicated  to  these  his 
degenerate  successors.  He  who  was  to  wear  the  crown 
of  Philip,  like  him  Indeed,  now  burned  the  midnight 
oil  and  worked  far  into  the  night ;  penning,  as  we 
know,  such  appeals  to  a  foreign  and  a  parvenu  prince 
as  would  have  been  disdained  by  the  meanest  of  the 
Bourbons  and  Habsburgs,  that  lay  piled  in  their 
coffins  beneath  the  marble  floors  of  the  pantheon. 

For  all  the  vigilance  which  Godoy,  as  governor  of 
the  palace,  might  have  exercised,  there  was  no  inter- 
ruption of  the  correspondence  secretly  maintained 
between  the  archdeacon  of  Alcaraz  at  Toledo  and 
his  former  pupil  in  the  palace  of  the  Escurial.  But  the 
lights  burning  so  late  into  the  night  in  his  highness's 
chambers,  the  whispering  and  activity  of  his  intimates, 
faintly  stirred  the  curiosity  of  the  courtiers.  About 
what  was  the  prince  so  busy  ?  The  answer  was  easy. 
He  was  diligently  translating,  at  the  suggestion  of  his 
royal  sire,  the  works  of  Condillac,  which  had  trained 

226 


The  Conspiracy  of  the  Escufial  227 

his  august  mother  in  the  practice  of  virtue.  So 
eagerly  did  he  pursue  his  edifying  task  that  in  those 
cold  solitudes  he  worked  on  into  the  late  grey  October 
dawn. 

This  industry  was  marked  by  the  marquesa  de 
Perijaa,  one  of  the  queen's  bed-chamber  women. 
It  may  have  been  this  observant  lady  who  chose  to 
arouse  their  majesties'  suspicions  ;  it  may  have  been 
some  obscurer  enemy  of  the  prince.  It  could  hardly 
have  been  a  member  of  the  French  ambassador's 
household  in  the  pay  of  Godoy,  as  has  been  alleged, 
for  such  an  agent  might  have  warned  his  employer 
in  time  of  the  letter  to  the  emperor  and  perhaps 
secured  it.  Probably  we  shall  never  know  with 
certainty  who  scrawled  the  warning  which  Charles 
IV.  found  on  the  morning  of  October  27  on  his 
dressing-table.  "  Haste,  haste,  post-haste,"  it  ran. 
"  Prince  Ferdinand  is  organising  a  movement  in  the 
palace  which  endangers  the  crown,  and  Queen  Maria 
Luisa  runs  a  risk  of  being  poisoned.  To  defeat  these 
designs  not  an  instant  must  be  lost.  The  faithful 
vassal  who  writes  these  lines  is  not  in  a  position  to 
fulfil  his  duty  in  any  other  way." 

Recovering  from  his  first  consternation,  the  king 
showed  this  letter  to  his  wife  and  then  quietly  passed 
over  to  his  son's  apartments.  He  took  with  him,  to 
serve  as  a  pretext  for  his  visit,  some  volumes  of  poetry 
celebrating  the  recent  defeat  of  the  English  at 
Buenos  Aires.  "  The  king,"  says  Godoy,  "  told  me 
afterwards  that  he  was  so  prejudiced  in  favour  of  his 
son  that,  if  he  had  seen  in  his  face  the  expression  of 
innocence,  he  would  there  and  then  have  abandoned 
all  further  inquiry  ;    but  the  son  betrayed  himself  by 


228  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

his  perturbation  and  embarrassment,  and  his  glance 
immediately  revealed  the  whereabouts  of  the  docu- 
ments which  compromised  him."  By  another  account 
the  king  engaged  Ferdinand  in  conversation,  while 
the  queen  and  her  secretary,  Ballesteros,  ransacked  his 
drawers.  Sternly  forbidding  any  one  to  enter  or 
to  leave  his  son's  apartments,  the  offended  father 
summoned  Caballero,  the  minister  of  Justice,  and 
proceeded  to  examine  the  papers  collected  by  her 
majesty. 

Among  these  was  a  memorandum  in  which  the 
prince  compared  himself  to  Ermengild,  the  sainted 
Gothic  prince,  who  felt  constrained  by  conscience  to 
rebel  against  his  father,  Leovigild,  and  is  supposed  to 
have  been  put  to  death  at  the  instigation  of  his  step- 
mother, Gosvinda,  and  her  presumed  favourite 
Sisbert.  This  incriminating  document  was  inspected 
by  Caballero,  who  pronounced  the  writer  to  be 
worthy  of  death.  The  queen  shrieked  with  terror, 
and,  snatching  the  paper  from  the  minister's  hands, 
hid  it  in  her  bosom.  This  is  Godoy's  account,  which 
I  see  no  reason  to  disbelieve.  Because  Maria  Luisa 
had  from  time  to  time  been  physically  unfaithful  to 
her  husband,  I  suppose  we  are  not  bound  to  assume 
that  she  had  none  of  the  natural  feelings  of  a  mother. 
That  the  well-known  story  of  Ermengild  should  have 
occurred  at  this  posture  of  his  affairs  to  Ferdinand  is 
most  likely  ;  that  his  writings  contained  some  definite 
menace  to  his  parents  is  to  be  inferred  from  the 
rage  and  despair  of  the  king  as  expressed  in  the  letter 
which  he  at  once  addressed  to  Napoleon. 

"  Sire,  my  brother,"  he  wrote,  "  at  the  moment 
that  I  was  occupied  with  the  means  of  co-operating 


The  Conspiracy  of  the  Escurial  229 

with  your  majesty  for  the  destruction  of  our  enemies, 
when  I  Imagined  that  all  the  plots  of  the  ex-queen 
of   Naples   had     been   burled   with   her   daughter,    I 
found,  with  a  horror  that  makes  me  shudder,   that 
the   most   terrible  spirit   of  Intrigue  has  penetrated 
into  the  heart   of  my  own  palace.     Alas  !    my  heart 
bleeds    to    give   you    an    account    of    so    fearful    an 
attempt.     My  beloved  son,  the  heir  of  my  throne,  has 
formed    a    horrible    plot    to    dethrone    me,    and    has 
gone  the  length  of  attempting  the  life  of  his  mother. 
A  plan  so  terrible  must  be  punished  with  the  exemplary 
rigour    of    the   law.     The    succession    of    the    prince 
must  be  revoked,  one  of  his  brothers  will  be  more 
worthy  than  he  to  fill  his  place  In  my  heart  and  on 
my  throne.     I   am   now   seeking   his   accomplices,   to 
discover  the  whole  of  this  disgraceful  plot,  and  I  do 
not  lose  a  moment  In  Informing  your  imperial  majesty, 
whom  I  pray  to  aid  me  with  your  wisdom  and  advice." 
The  night  of  October  29  on  which  this  was  written, 
says  Major  Martin  Hume,  "  the  long,  dusky  corridors 
of  the  Escurial  saw  a  sad  procession  which  reminded 
the  trembling  witnesses  of  a  similar  event  two  and 
a    half    centuries    before,    when    Philip    II.    himself 
arrested   his   only   son,    Don    Carlos.     First    came    a 
gentleman    in    waiting,    the    duke    of    Bejar,    bearing 
candelabra  to  illuminate  the  darkness,  than  a  platoon 
of   the   Spanish   royal   guard   in   their   blue   and   red 
uniform,    followed    by    a    stout,    well-built,    fresh- 
coloured  young   man   of   twenty-three,   of  singularly 
sinister   aspect.     His   forehead   was   white   and   well- 
shaped,  and  over  his  dark  eyes  lowered  conspicuously 
heavy,  smooth,  jet-black  eyebrows,  glossy  like  leeches ; 
but  it  was  the  lower  part  of  the  face  which  mainly 


230  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

attracted  attention.  The  point  of  the  drooping 
Bourbon  nose  descended  over  a  very  short  upper  lip 
to  the  level  of  the  straight-slit  mouth  ;  whilst  the 
nether  jaw,  underhung  like  those  of  the  princes  of 
the  house  of  Austria,  stood  clear  out,  so  that  the 
under-lip  was  on  a  level  with  the  point  of  his  nose. 

"  This  was  Fernando,  prince  of  Asturias,  who,  in 
his  own  person,  centred  all  the  evil  qualities  of  both 
his  Bourbon  and  Habsburg  ancestors  without  any  of 
their  virtues  :  a  man  of  undoubted  ability,  beloved 
to  frenzy  by  a  generous,  loyal  people,  who  made 
greater  sacrifices  for  him  than  a  nation  ever  made 
for  a  ruler  ;  but  a  prince  who  yet,  through  the  whole 
of  a  long  life,  belied  every  promise,  betrayed  every 
friend,  repaid  every  sacrifice  by  persecution,  rewarded 
love  and  attachment  by  cruelty  and  injustice  ;  and 
who  thus  early  began  by  treason  to  an  over-indulgent 
father  an  evil  career  which  was  to  bring  untold 
misery  to  his  country  and  a  heritage  of  war  of  which 
the  end  has  not  yet  been  reached. 

"  By  the  side  of  the  prince  walked  his  father,  a  stout, 
elderly,  red-faced  gentleman,  immersed  in  grief,  and 
followed  by  the  ministers  and  other  courtiers,  who  thus 
conveyed  the  heir-apparent  a  prisoner  to  his  apart- 
ments after  his  examination  on  the  charge  of  treason. 
The  next  day  there  appeared  on  the  walls  of  the 
capital  a  pathetic  address  of  the  king  to  his  people, 
telling  them  how  his  son  had  been  seduced  into  a 
wicked  conspiracy  against  the  throne.  But  the 
Madrilefios  could  believe  no  evil  of  their  beloved 
Fernando,  and  once  more  they  made  a  scapegoat  of 
the  Choricero,  who,  they  said,  had  invented  a  false 
plot  to  ruin  the  heir  to  the  crown." 


FERDINAND    VII. 
(Goya) 


231 


The  Conspiracy  of  the  Escurial  233 

The  proclamation  was,  in  fact,  the  composition  of 
Caballero,  who  was  undoubtedly  responsible  for  the 
initiation  of  the  prosecution.  The  news  reached 
Godoy  on  his  sick-bed,  to  which,  with  delightful  in- 
consistency, his  enemies  allege  at  one  time  that  he  was 
not  confined  at  all,  and  at  another  that  he  was  there 
as  the  result  of  his  debaucheries.  With  trembling, 
feverish  hands,  he  scrawled  an  appeal  to  the  king  to 
hush  up  this  scandal  in  the  royal  household  and  to 
interrogate  the  prince  personally  and  in  private. 
Only  when  the  authority  of  a  father  had  been  tried 
ineffectually  should  the  processes  of  law  be  resorted 
to.  The  counsel  arrived  too  late.  The  royal  culprit 
was  in  solitary  confinement  in  his  own  room,  and 
the  minister  of  Justice  was  busily  preparing  the 
proofs  for  the  prosecution. 

Now  that  the  queen  had  extracted  the  most  in- 
criminating of  all,  these  consisted  of  four  papers  :  a 
memorial  denouncing  the  Prince  of  the  Peace,  a 
note  in  which  Ferdinand  exposed  his  reasons  for 
not  marrying  the  favourite's  sister-in-law,  a  decree 
naming  the  duke  del  Infantado  captain-general  of 
New  Castile,  and  a  cipher  code.  The  memorial, 
though  in  the  prince's  handwriting,  was  the  com- 
position of  Escoiquiz.  It  painted  Godoy  as  the  most 
infamous  of  men  and  the  most  disloyal  of  subjects. 
He  aimed,  it  was  alleged,  at  dethroning  the  king  and 
substituting  himself  for  the  rightful  heir.  He  had 
acquired  his  power  by  the  most  shameful  arts.  His 
life  was  a  scandal  to  all  Spain.  He  was  a  married 
man  when  he  espoused  the  daughter  of  the  Infante 
Luis  ;  his  palace  and  his  office  had  become  an  open 
market   for  prostitution,   in   which  adultery  was   the 


234  Godoy  :   the  Queen's  Favourite 

passport  to  office  and  to  favour.  The  wealth  he  had 
accumulated  was  pointed  to  as  palpable  evidence  of 
his  corruptness  and  dishonesty. 

Yet  the  prince  did  not  advise  his  father  to  expose 
this  enormous  criminal  to  the  vengeance  of  the  law. 
No,  in  order  to  spare  the  feelings  of  his  relatives,  to 
save  the  face  of  the  king  who  had  so  long  trusted  and 
honoured  him,  and  because  this  evil  man  had  so 
many  friends  in  high  places,  it  would  be  better  simply 
to  dismiss  him  from  all  his  offices  and  leave  his  innu- 
merable offences  buried  in  oblivion.  In  conclusion, 
the  prince  desired  his  father  to  meet  him  at  one  of  his 
hunting-lodges,  when  he  would  substantiate  all  these 
charges.  Whether  this  advice  were  heeded  or  not, 
his  majesty  was  implored  to  keep  it  secret  if  he  did 
not  wish  to  hasten  his  own  death  and  the  writer's. 

His  refusal  to  marry  Godoy's  sister-in-law  Ferdi- 
nand justified  in  a  singularly  coarse  and  stupidly 
conceived  document,  supposed  to  embody  the  advice 
of  a  holy  friar.  More  suspicious  was  the  cipher  used 
in  correspondence  with  Escoiquiz  ;  and,  most  alarm- 
ing to  the  king,  the  decree  in  which  Ferdinand  ap- 
pointed the  duke  del  Infantado  captain-general  of  New 
Castile,  to  be  used,  as  the  writer  averred,  only  in  the 
event  of  his  majesty's  sudden  death. 

This  explanation  may  very  possibly  have  been  true, 
and  is  accepted  as  such  by  all  the  historians  hostile 
to  the  favourite.  Thus,  by  one  account,  Godoy  took 
precautions  to  secure  his  position  at  the  king's  death, 
and  his  brother  Diego  endeavoured  to  enlist  the 
services  of  Don  Luis  de  Viguri  and  Tomas  de  Jaurequi, 
colonel  of  the  Pavia  regiment.  These  officers  re- 
vealed his  proposal  to  the  duke  del  Infantado,  who 


The  Conspiracy  of  the  Escurial  235 

at  once  communicated  it  to  Escoiquiz.  The  prince's 
friends  then  concerted  a  plan  of  operations  to  be  put 
in  action  at  the  instant  of  Charles's  death.  The  duke 
was  to  assume  office  as  captain-general  of  the  province 
in  which  Madrid  is  situated,  the  count  of  Montarco 
was  to  be  appointed  president  of  the  Council  of 
Castille,  the  duke  of  San  Carlos  master  of  the  house- 
hold, Floridablanca  first  secretary  of  State.  The 
patents  were  drawn  up,  only  the  dates  being  left 
blank.  Yes  ;  but  they  would  have  been  as  readily 
available  on  the  deposition  as  on  the  death  of  the 
actual  sovereign. 

The  proclamation  had  been  only  freshly  pasted  on 
the  walls  of  the  capital  when,  in  response  to  frantic 
entreaties  from  his  master,  Godoy  rose  from  his  bed 
and  appeared,  still  in  the  grip  of  fever,  in  the  bleak 
palace    of    Philip    II.     He    found    the   king    at    once 
furious   and   exultant.     Three  days'  solitary  confine- 
ment had  been  sufficient  to  wear  down  the  obstinacy 
of   the   prince   whom   the   people   of   Spain   regarded 
as     a     hero.       Persistently    harassed      by    Caballero, 
fearing  perhaps   the   traditional  fate   of  Philip's   son, 
Ferdinand  had  blurted  out   the  names  of  Escoiquiz 
as  well  as  of  Infantado,  and  threatened  his  enemies 
with  the  wrath  of  the  great  Napoleon,  with  whom 
he  declared  he  was  in  correspondence.     Godoy  had 
suspected  as  much.     His  task  now  was  to  soothe  the 
irate  father  and  to  divert  his  wrath  from  the  prince 
to  his  accomplices.     Orders  were  given  to  arrest  the 
duke  and  the  archdeacon.     Meanwhile  the  favourite 
paced  the  dreary  halls  of  the  Escurial,  his  fever  for- 
gotten in  his  anxiety.     French  troops  were  pouring 
into  Spain;   he  had  never  trusted  the  emperor  .  .  . 


236  Godoy:  the  Queen^s  Favourite 

and  now,  what  mischief  was  hatching  between  him 
and  this  sinister  Bourbon  prince  ? 

With  the  connivance  of  the  queen,  the  detested 
favourite  paid  Ferdinand  a  visit  in  his  prison.  The 
accused  prince,  he  tells  us,  welcomed  him  as  a  de- 
liverer and  embraced  him  weeping.  Such  weakness 
is  quite  consistent  with  his  royal  highness's  subsequent 
behaviour.  Godoy  also  shed  tears  (they  came  readily 
to  men's  eyes  a  hundred  years  ago)  and  groaned  over 
his  enemy  as  a  father  over  the  prodigal  son.  Ferdi- 
nand bewailed  his  weakness  in  having  been  misled  by 
designing  men,  and  implored  the  intervention  of  his 
dear  Manuel.  Charles  was  not,  however,  easily  bent, 
and  was  moved  rather  by  appeals  to  his  statecraft 
than  to  his  clemency.  It  was  clear,  Godoy  pointed 
out,  that  relations  of  some  sort  existed  between  the 
culprit  and  the  emperor.  The  intercession  of  his 
imperial  majesty  could  not  be  rejected,  and  it  was 
wise,  therefore,  to  forestall  it.  After  nine  days' 
confinement,  Ferdinand  was  once  more  brought 
before  his  father.  He  admitted  his  participation  in  a 
disloyal  intrigue,  he  named  his  accomplices,  he  sued 
abjectly  for  forgiveness. 

On  November  5  the  people's  apprehensions  for 
their  unworthy  favourite  were  relieved  by  the  publica- 
tion of  a  royal  decree  which,  beginning  with  the 
words,  "  The  voice  of  nature  disarms  vengeance," 
announced  that  the  king  had  pardoned  his  son. 
Ferdinand's  confession  of  guilt  was  published  at  the 
same  time.  To  his  father  he  wrote  :  "  I  have  been 
guilty  of  offending  against  your  majesty,  against  my 
father  and  my  king.  I  repent  of  it,  and  I  promise 
your  majesty  the  most  humble  obedience.     I  ought 


The  Conspiracy  of  the  Escurial  237 

to  do  nothing  without  your  consent,  but  I  was  sur- 
prised and  taken  advantage  of  by  evil-minded  persons. 
I  have  denounced  these,  and  I  beseech  your  majesty 
to  forgive  me  and  to  permit  your  grateful  son  to  kiss 
your  feet." 

Before  Maria  Luisa  the  prince  was  not  less  humble. 
"  Madame,  my  mother,  I  deeply  repent  of  the  great 
fault  I  have  committed  against  the  king  and  against 
you,  my  father  and  mother.  I  therefore  implore 
your  pardon  with  the  greatest  submission,  as  well 
as  for  my  obstinacy  in  denying  the  truth  to  you  the 
other  night.  I  therefore  beseech  your  majesty,  from 
the  bottom  of  my  heart,  to  deign  to  interpose  your 
mediation  with  my  father,  that  he  will  be  pleased  to 
permit  me,  his  grateful  son,  to  kiss  his  majesty's  feet." 

The  prince  grovelled  at  his  parents'  feet.  If 
Godoy  had  craved  revenge,  here  was  a  surfeit.  He 
has  been  blamed  for  publishing  these  letters.  Of 
course  it  was  the  king  who  did  so,  and  it  is  hard  to 
see  how  he  could  have  done  otherwise.  To  have 
pardoned  his  son  without  any  stated  motive  for  such 
clemency  would  have  caused  his  subjects  to  suppose 
that  he  had  no  just  grounds  for  complaint  and  would 
have  made  a  prosecution  of  his  highness's  accom- 
plices impossible.  It  is  odd  that  the  historians  who 
blame  Godoy  for  making  the  letters  known  all  go 
to  the  trouble  of  reproducing  them. 

The  prince  would  not  have  escaped,  says  Toreno, 
but  through  the  fear  into  which  the  name  of  Napoleon 
plunged  the  court  of  the  Escurial.  Godoy  admits 
that  the  introduction  of  the  emperor  into  this  obscure 
domestic  intrigue  filled  him  with  dread.  To  what 
extent  had  the  prince  compromised  himself  with  his 


238  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

country's  nominal  ally  and  most  dangerous  neigh- 
bour ?  What  measure  of  support  had  Beauharnais 
received  from  his  own  court  ? 

For  the  ambassador,  according  to  his  own  account, 
a  snare  was  laid  by  the  enemies  of  Ferdinand.  At 
dead  of  night  one  of  the  royal  carriages  halted  at  the 
door  of  the  embassy.  A  mysterious  cloaked  personage 
alighted.  He  had,  he  explained,  a  private  message 
from  the  prince  of  Asturias  which  he  could  deliver 
only  to  the  ambassador  in  person.  Beauharnais, 
suspecting  a  trap,  sent  his  secretary  to  inform  the 
stranger  that  he  was  not  authorised  to  enter  into 
communication  with  his  royal  highness.  Entreaties 
and  arguments  proving  futile,  the  cloaked  personage 
withdrew  leaving  a  billet  behind  him.  It  was  signed 
"  Ferdinand,"  and  contained  an  urgent  request  that 
his  excellency  would  hand  the  bearer  the  letter  he 
had  addressed  to  the  emperor,  or  the  copy  if  this  had 
already  been  despatched.  After  all,  the  request  may 
very  well  have  been  made  by  Ferdinand  himself,  in 
the  desire  to  appease  his  father's  wrath. 

At  the  instigation  of  Godoy  the  offended  sove- 
reign wrote,  on  November  3,  a  second  letter  to  his 
imperial  ally,  asking  if  his  son  had  really  been  in 
negotiation  with  him  and  complaining  of  the  improper 
conduct  of  Beauharnais.  To  test  the  extent  of  the 
emperor's  sympathy  with  the  prince,  there  was  no 
hint  or  promise  of  the  pardon  which  on  that  day 
the  writer  had  determined  to  grant.  The  letter  was 
delivered  by  the  prince  of  Masserano  and  produced  a 
violent  explosion  of  wrath.  His  imperial  majesty 
considered  himself  insulted  ;  he  denied  all  knowledge 
of  the  prince's  letter,  which  he  had  in  his  pocket, 


The  Conspiracy  of  the  Escurial  239 

but  declared  that  henceforward  he  would  take  him 
under  his  protection.  The  insult,  he  knew,  proceeded 
not  from  his  excellent  all)^  Charles,  but  from  Godoy. 
Had  Masserano  received  any  message  from  that 
villain  ? — no,  but  Izquierdo  had.  The  letter  was 
shown  to  Duroc  next  day.  It  contained  a  very  brief 
narrative  of  the  events  at  the  Escurial.  The  plot 
was  stated  to  have  been  supported  by  Beauharnais. 
"  Madrid,"  continued  Godoy,  "  is  much  excited  ; 
every  one  awaits  the  results  ;  it  is  reported  that  the 
ambassador  has  said  that  the  French  troops  will 
make  Madrid  their  headquarters.  I  am  at  the  royal 
residence.  All  my  attention  is  required,  with  so 
many  enemies  ;    but  the  cannon  will  reduce  them." 

Strangely  enough,  this  letter,  so  much  more  threaten- 
ing than  that  of  the  king's,  appeared  to  mollify  the 
emperor.  He  had  had  time  for  reflection,  and  he 
had  remembered  that  the  treaty  of  Fontainebleau 
was  not  yet  ratified.  Junot's  small  army  of  23,000 
men  was  just  then  at  Salamanca,  liable  to  be  taken 
between  the  Portuguese  in  its  front  and  the  Spaniards 
in  its  rear.  The  all-devouring  conqueror  had  not 
yet  made  up  his  mind  with  regard  to  Spain.  He 
decided  to  temporise.  Through  Duroc  he  assured 
Izquierdo  that  he  was  entirely  ignorant  of  the 
alleged  intrigues  of  his  ambassador  ;  through  Cham- 
pagny  he  warned  the  Spaniard  that  he  would  regard 
any  attempt  to  introduce  his  or  his  representative's 
name  into  the  prosecution  as  an  unfriendly  act  and 
would  avenge  it  accordingly. 

To  Charles  he  wrote  :  "  I  have  received  your 
majesty's  letters  of  October  29  and  November  3. 
I  have  never  received  any  letter  from  the  prince  of 


240  Godoy:   the  Queen*s  Favourite 

Asturias.  I  have  never  heard  him  spoken  of,  directly 
or  indirectly,  so  that  it  would  be  true  to  say  that  I 
do  not  even  know  that  he  exists.  The  treaty,  which 
your  majesty  will  have  perused  will  show  you  that, 
while  admitting  that  my  troops  might  be  commanded 
by  you  or  the  Prince  of  the  Peace,  I  never  entertained 
the  idea  of  allowing  them  to  be  commanded  by  the 
prince  of  Asturias.  However  painful  may  be  these 
domestic  discords,  they  are  incapable  of  affecting 
large  issues  of  State.   ..." 

They  did  not  delay  the  execution  of  the  treaty 
of  Fontainebleau,  which  had  been  ratified  before 
Napoleon  wrote,  on  November  8,  by  Ceballos  and 
Beauharnais.  Moreover,  to  heal  the  breach  created 
by  his  first  letter,  Charles  IV.  decided  to  put  forward 
the  very  proposal  which  had  been  the  cause  of  all 
the  mischief.  Without  knowing,  of  course,  the  terms 
of  his  son's  demand,  which  Napoleon  was  supposed 
never  to  have  received,  his  catholic  majesty  now  told 
his  ally  that  such  an  alliance  between  the  two  courts 
would  be  regarded  by  him  with  profound  satisfaction. 

Napoleon,  on  his  side,  had  not  dismissed  as  alto- 
gether vain  the  project  he  had  repudiated.  He 
disposed  of  Mdlle  de  la  Pagerie  by  marrying  her 
to  the  duke  of  Aremberg,  but  he  considered  whether 
the  hand  of  the  prince  of  Asturias  might  not  suit 
his  niece  Charlotte,  the  thirteen-year-old  daughter 
of  Lucien  Bonaparte  and  Christine  Boyer.  At  an 
interview  with  his  brother  at  Mantua  on  December  1 3 
he  obtained  the  custody  of  the  girl,  who  was  then 
sent  off  to  be  educated  by  her  grandmother.  She 
gave  so  little  promise  of  making  a  princess,  however, 
that   she  was   after   a   short   time   packed   off   to   her 


The  Conspiracy  of  the  Escurial  241 

father's  home  in  Italy.  There  remained  no  other 
daughter  of  the  house  of  Bonaparte  to  mount  the 
throne  of  Spain,  but  there  were  brothers  of  Napoleon 
who  could  fill  it  very  well. 

While  assuring  the  emperor  that  no  allusion  to 
his  august  self  or  to  his  agents  would  be  permitted  at 
the  trial,  the  Spanish  Government  had  by  no  means 
neglected  the  prosecution  of  Ferdinand's  accom- 
plices. Escoiquiz,  seized  at  Toledo,  was  confined  in 
a  cell  under  the  roof  of  the  Escurial.  He  was  pre- 
sently joined  by  the  count  of  Orjas,  and  by  the  duke 
del  Infantado.  His  grace  was  on  his  way  to  Bordeaux 
when  he  heard  of  the  arrest  of  the  prince.  He  at 
once  retraced  his  steps,  hearing,  as  he  approached 
Madrid,  that  by  order  of  the  captain-general  his 
house  had  been  searched  and  his  servants  apprehended. 
He  was  informed  that  he  must  proceed  to  the  Escu- 
rial on  a  charge  of  high  treason.  Says  Lord  Holland, 
somewhat  rashly  :  "  He  would  probably  have  been 
executed  immediately  had  he  been  brought  thither 
according  to  orders  ;  but  the  muleteers  purposely 
missed  the  turn  to  the  Escurial,  and  conveyed  him 
as  far  as  San  Ildefonso  before  they  acknowledged  their 
pretended  mistake.  They  had,  it  is  supposed,  been 
bribed  by  agents  of  the  French  embassy  to  do  so." 

The  other  accused  were  the  marquis  of  Ayerbe, 
Don  Jose  Gonzalez  Manrique,  Andres  Casafia,  and 
Collado  and  Selgas,  two  of  the  prince's  menial  do- 
mestics. Ferdinand  is  said,  by  the  way,  to  have 
succeeded,  while  under  arrest,  in  conveying  th6  first 
warnings  to  his  friends  by  means  of  a  fishing-line 
thrown  from  his  window. 

The  judges  were  eleven  in  number.     The  tribunal 


242  Godoy :   the  Queen's  Favourite 

was  composed,  says  Beauharnais,  of  the  poorest  of  the 
occupants  of  the  judicial  bench  in  the  hope  that 
they  would  be  more  easily  corrupted.  "  Their  names 
alone,"  says  another  writer,  "  were  a  sufficient  guar- 
antee to  the  public."  Their  conduct  certainly  con- 
victs Godoy  of  amazing  stupidity  if  he  had  indeed 
had  a  hand  in  their  selection.  That  task  would,  I 
imagine,  fall  to  Caballero,  the  minister  of  Justice, 
the  favourite's  bitter  foe.  Don  Arias  Antonio  Mon, 
acting  governor  of  the  Council  of  State,  presided 
over  the  tribunal ;  his  colleagues  were  Gonzalo  de 
Vilches,  Antonio  Villanueva,  Gonzalez  Yebra,  the 
marques  de  Casagracia,  Alvarez  Caballero,  Sebastian 
de  Torres,  Fernandez  de  Campomanes,  Andres 
Lasauca,  Alvarez  de  Contreras,  and  Miguel  Villagomez. 
The  crown  prosecutor  was  Simon  de  Viegas, 
devoted,  we  are  of  course  assured,  to  the  Prince  of 
the  Peace.  We  learn  that  he  attempted  first  to  extort 
confessions  from  the  accused,  and  was  authorised  to 
promise  Escoiquiz  a  bishopric  as  the  reward  of  his 
revelations.  This  does  not  indicate  a  very  vindictive 
spirit  on  the  part  of  the  prosecution,  especially  as, 
the  complicity  of  Napoleon,  the  prince  of  Asturias, 
and  Beauharnais  having  been  established,  the  canon's 
revelations  could  not  have  been  of  much  value.  How- 
ever, his  reverence  stood  firm,  avowing  himself  to 
have  been  the  counsellor,  not  the  seducer,  of  his  former 
pupil.  The  crown  prosecutor  then  announced  that 
he  would  demand  the  penalty  of  death  against  the 
canon,  Infantado,  and  Ayerbe,  though  a  remission  of 
the  sentence  was  promised.  The  accused  were  allowed 
a  fortnight  to  prepare  their  defence.  Eminent  advo- 
cates   volunteered    their  services    on    their   behalf — 


The  Conspiracy  of  the  Escurial  243 

Davila  for  Escoiquiz,  Joven  de  Salas  for  Infantado. 
The  chapter  of  Toledo  dismissed  its  regular  legal 
adviser  because  he  refused  to  defend  the  canon. 

Public  opinion  is  asserted  to  have  been  entirely  on 
the  side  of  the  accused.  "  Hatred  of  the  favourite 
caused  every  one  to  desire  their  acquittal  ...  it 
seemed  that  the  Escurial  case,  as  it  was  called,  must 
decide  the  honour  of  the  nation.  The  judges  did 
not  suffer  that  patrimony  to  be  tarnished  in  their 
hands." 

So  says  M.  de  Grandmaison,  who  does  not  perceive 
that  this  effervescence  of  popular  opinion  may  have 
been  as  unfavourable  as  the  influence  of  the  crown  to 
an  attitude  of  impartiality  on  the  part  of  the  judges. 
To  the  same  writer,  on  the  authority  of  Beauharnais, 
we  are  indebted  for  some  picturesque  details  con- 
cerning the  trial  which  I  can  nowhere  find  mentioned 
by   Spanish  historians. 

When  the  court  assembled  in  the  early  morning 
of  January  25,  1808,  at  the  Escurial,  one  of  the 
judges  was  absent.  This  was  Don  Eugenio  Caballero, 
possibly  a  relative  of  Godoy's  enemy,  the  minister  of 
Justice.  He  lay  on  his  death-bed,  and  he  implored 
his  colleagues  to  give  him  the  opportunity  of  pro- 
nouncing his  judgment  in  so  momentous  a  trial. 
The  court  immediately  adjourned  to  his  bedside. 
"  They  found  Caballero  sitting  up  in  his  bed  wearing 
his  robe  and  insignia  of  office.  His  emaciated  coun- 
tenance lit  up,  and,  with  a  last  effort,  he  saluted  the 
court,  the  personification  of  justice.  He  craved  leave 
to  deliver  his  judgment  first ;  but,  observing  the 
presence  of  Simon  de  Viegas,  who  had  followed  the 
tribunal,  he  pointed  out  that  the  prosecutor,  having 


244  Godoy:   the  Qucen^s  Favourite 

made  his  plea,  had  lost  the  right  to  assist  at  the  de- 
liberations of  the  court.  Andres  Lasauca  agreed  with 
this,  adding  that  he  would  withdraw  if  the  prose- 
cutor did  not.  Viegas,  pale  with  anger,  bowed  curtly 
and  withdrew.  Caballero  spoke.  His  condition,  the 
issue,  the  circumstances,  all  imparted  to  his  accents 
a  poignant  emotion,  shared  by  his  colleagues.  He 
congratulated  the  accused  on  their  firmness  and  hoped 
the  tribunal  would  establish  their  innocence." 

This  sounds,  to  English  ears,  a  somewhat  irregular 
utterance  from  a  judge;  and,  we  are  told,  "the 
magistrates,  without  pursuing  a  superfluous  discussion, 
delivered  judgment.  They  found,  firstly,  that  the 
originals  of  the  documents  advanced  as  proofs  had  not 
been  produced ;  secondly,  that  copies  of  these  could 
not  be  admitted ;  thirdly,  that  the  prince  of  Asturias 
must  be  heard,  which  could  only  be  before  the  Cortes 
in  public  assembled ;  fourthly,  that  the  court  had  not 
been  informed  by  the  Council  of  Castile  of  the 
name  of  the  accuser.  The  charge  against  all  the 
accused  was  dismissed.  The  judges  affirmed  their 
verdict  on  the  crucifix  and  embraced  each  other. 

"  Night  had  fallen,  some  wax  tapers  lit  up  this 
death-chamber  transformed  into  a  court  of  justice. 
Around  the  bed  of  Caballero,  who  lay  suffering  in 
body  but  serene  in  soul,  the  light  reflected  itself  on 
the  long  red  robes,  and  the  naked  walls  and  the 
wooden  chairs  attested,  without  the  apparatus  of 
justice,  the  majesty  of  duty  accomplished  and  the 
magnanimity  of  a  true  magistrate." 

Without  crediting  the  judges  with  any  particular 
heroism  in  giving  a  decision  acceptable  to  their 
future     sovereign     and     the    vast     majority    of     the 


The  Conspiracy  of  the  Escurial  245 

nation,  we  must  admit  that  no  other  finding  was 
possible.  Once  the  king  had  forbidden  the  names  of 
the  emperor  and  Beauharnais  to  be  mentioned  and 
his  son  to  be  cited  as  a  witness,  the  whole  case  fell  to 
the  ground.  Luckily  for  Infantado,  Godoy,  his 
military  superior,  had  refused  to  try  him  by  a  court- 
martial,  whereat  more  regard  for  facts  and  less  for 
forms  might  have  been  shown.  It  is  difficult  to 
resist  the  conclusion,  from  what  was  not  long  after 
to  follow,  that  all  the  accused  were  ready  to  counsel 
and  abet  the  heir-apparent  in  resistance  to  his  father's 
government. 

The  acquittal  was  received  with  immense  satis- 
faction by  the  people.  The  advocates  refused  to 
take  their  fees.  On  the  death  of  Caballero,  two  days 
later,  his  funeral  was  undertaken  with  great  magni- 
ficence by  a  neighbouring  community  of  monks  and 
was  attended  by  a  vast  concourse.  Godoy's  brother- 
in-law,  the  archbishop  of  Toledo,  had  offered  to  resign 
if  his  canon  were  convicted — it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  his  sister  was  estranged  from  her  husband. 

The  king  was  convulsed  with  anger  when  he  was 
informed  of  the  judgment.  "  And  my  honour  !  " 
he  demanded,  "  is  that  to  go  for  nothing  ?  "  Maria 
Luisa  was  insulted  by  the  acquittal  of  the  men  who 
had  defamed  her.  One  is  reminded  of  that  famous 
trial  at  Venice,  for  ever  commemorated  by  the  black 
cloak  painted  over  the  portrait  of  the  Doge  who  had 
also  been  refused  reparation  by  his  tribunals.  Godoy 
had  been  opposed  from  the  first  to  the  procedure 
through  the  courts.  He  would  have  given  Escoiquiz 
a  bishopric  in  America,  have  found  similar  high  offices 
far  away  for  the  prince's  intimates,  and  persuaded  the 


246  Godoy :  the  Queen's  Favourite 

king  to  associate  his  son  with  him  more  intimately 
in  the  government. 

Charles  indignantly  refused  to  abide  by  the  finding 
of  the  court.  By  royal  decree  he  stripped  the  accused 
of  all  their  offices  and  orders.  Infantado  was  banished 
to  Ecija,  Orjas  to  Valencia,  Ayerbe  into  Aragon,  San 
Carlos  to  a  distance  of  sixty  leagues  from  any  royal 
residence ;  Escoiquiz  was  sent  to  a  monastery  near 
Cordova,  under  orders  to  assist  at  all  the  religious 
offices  of  the  community.  The  sentence  was  com- 
municated to  him  by  Caballero  in  harsh  terms  : 
"  His  majesty  is  filled  with  indignation  at  your  attempts 
to  corrupt  the  prince  and  to  lure  him  from  the  paths 
of  sound  morality  and  the  Gospel.  More  out  of 
regard  for  your  cloth  than  your  person,  he  orders  you 
to  proceed  to  the  monastery  of  El  Perdon  and  forbids 
you  to  approach  any  royal  residence,  in  the  hope 
that  you  may  learn  to  live  and  die  as  a  good  Christian 
and  a  clergyman." 

These  manifestations  of  the  king's  displeasure  are 
often  spoken  of  as  monstrous  abuses  of  authority. 
Charles,  from  our  modern  standpoint,  can  hardly  be 
justified  in  incarcerating  persons  acquitted  by  his 
own  judges,  but  he  had  certainly  a  right  to  expel  from 
his  court  and  to  divest  of  their  offices  all  those  whom 
he  believed  to  be  hostile  to  his  government.  Godoy 
says  that  he  had  some  difficulty  in  moderating  his 
master's  resentment,  a  task  in  which  for  once  he  was 
assisted  by  Caballero.  The  minister  of  Justice  after- 
wards vaunted  his  activity  on  behalf  of  the  accused 
and  said  that  they  owed  their  lives  to  him.  The 
Prussian  minister  informed  his  Government  that  the 
favourite    "  manifested    great    satisfaction    at    having 


/ 


The  Conspiracy  of  the  Escurial  247 

inclined  the  king  towards  clemency  "  ;  M.  de  Beau- 
harnais  represented  him  gnashing  his  teeth  with 
baffled  spite,  while  the  Spanish  nation  looked  wistfully 
towards  "  the  hero  governing  France  "  as  a  liberator. 
They  had  not  long  to  wait  for  him. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

THE    INVASION 

While  the  eyes  of  all  Spaniards  were  turned  towards 
the  Escurial,  Napoleon  was  busily  reaping  the  advan- 
tages secured  to  him  by  the  treaty  of  Fontainebleau. 
Before  the  ratification  had  been  exchanged,  Junot 
had  left  the  plains  of  Castile  behind  him.  On 
November  12  he  set  out  from  Salamanca,  following 
the  difficult  road  through  Alcantara.  He  reached 
Abrantes  twelve  days  later,  after  a  march  the  horrors 
of  which  can  only  be  compared  with  those  of  the 
retreat  from  Moscow.  Of  the  army  of  23,000  men 
with  which  he  entered  Spain,  he  had  now  but  four 
or  five  thousand  capable  of  continuing  the  advance. 
With  the  intrepidity  characteristic  of  Napoleon's 
lieutenants,  Junot  pushed  on,  and  with  only  1,500 
grenadiers  entered  Lisbon  without  resistance  on 
November  30.  But  the  birds  he  sought  had  flown. 
Upon  the  news  of  his  approach  the  whole  royal  family 
had  embarked,  and  were  now  on  their  way  to  Brazil 
under  the  protection  of  the  English  fleet. 

Meanwhile  Spain  had  faithfully  fulfilled  her  part 
of  the  compact.  A  small  but  well-disciplined  corps 
under  General  Carafa  co-operated  with  Junot  ; 
General  Taranco,  with  6,000  men,  penetrated  into  the 
provinces  allotted  to  the  ex-king  of  Etruria  and  occu- 
pied Oporto.    The  Portuguese  troops  had  been  ordered 

248 


CABALLERO. 
(Goya) 


249 


The  Invasion  251 

by  their  Government  not  to  offer  armed  resistance  to 
the  Spaniards,  which  goes  far  to  prove  that  the  Cabinet 
of  Lisbon  had  faith  in  the  benevolent  attitude  of 
the  court  of  Madrid.  The  marquis  of  Solano,  with 
an  equal  force,  took  possession  of  the  southern  provinces 
of  Alemtejo  and  Algarve.  This  general  had  received 
orders  to  treat  the  inhabitants  with  especial  lenity 
that  they  might  be  less  unwilling  to  accept  the  yoke 
proposed  for  them  in  the  treaty  of  partition. 

Godoy  displayed  no  eagerness  to  take  possession  of 
his  promised  principality.  Yet  according  to  his  enemy, 
Beauharnais,  he  learnt  the  ratification  of  the  treaty 
of  Fontainebleau  with  infinite  relief.  In  the  midst  of 
the  mysterious  intrigues  and  enmities  of  the  Escurial, 
the  prospect  of  such  an  asylum  might  well  have  been 
grateful.  Godoy  had  not  allowed  the  alliance  forced 
upon  him  to  interrupt  his  real  married  life  with 
Pepita  Tudo.  To  her  house  he  went  every  night  to 
refresh  his  weary,  harassed  soul  in  the  love  of  his 
true  wife  and  his  two  little  sons.  To  Pepita  he  was 
indiscreet  enough  to  reveal  his  interest  in  the  par- 
tition of  Portugal.  She  showed  unbounded  elation, 
which  was  soon  visible  in  the  manner  of  all  the  favour- 
ite's friends.  To  Napoleon  Godoy  felt  bound  to 
express  deep  gratitude ;  to  Murat  he  wrote  on  :- . 
Christmas  Eve,  i8oij,"Now  I  begin  to  enjoy  tranf- v^  | 
quillity  since  I  have  seen  a  treaty  which  places  me 
under  the  protection  of  the  emperor." 

He  expressed  a  confidence  he  was  far  from  feeling. 
When  Charles  IV.  asked  leave  to  publish  the  treaty 
in  order  to  take  formal  possession  of  the  two  prin- 
cipalities, he  received  no  reply  from  Paris.  But 
Napoleon    had    not    waited    for   the   occupation    of 

15 


252  Godoy:  the  Queen^s  Favourite 

*'  Northern  Lusitania  "  to  seize  the  province  allotted 
him  in  exchange  for  it.  He  was  already  in  Italy. 
Charles  IV.,  perturbed  by  the  discovery  of  his  son's 
perfidy,  had  forgotten  to  acquaint  his  daughter,  the 
widowed  queen  of  Etruria,  with  the  disposition  of 
her  infant  son's  kingdom. 

On  November  23  the  French  envoy,  M.  d'Au- 
busson  de  la  Feuillade,  presented  himself  at  one 
of  her  country  seats,  and,  to  her  unspeakable  astonish- 
ment, informed  her  that  the  kingdom  of  Etruria  had 
now  been  annexed  to  France,  and  would  immediately 
be  occupied  by  French  troops.  Not  listening  to  the 
explanations  of  the  ambassador,  the  timid  young  queen 
remained  for  a  time  as  if  spell-bound.  Rousing  her- 
self at  last,  she  despatched  a  messenger  to  her 
father  to  seek  further  enlightenment,  and  set  forth 
to  meet  Napoleon  at  Milan.  The  Tuscans  witnessed 
her  departure  in  absolute  silence.  Yet  she  begged 
the  emperor  to  let  her  retain  these  dominions  in- 
stead of  those  promised  in  Portugal.  His  majesty  had 
the  audacity  to  inform  her  that  the  proposal  for  the 
transfer  had  originated  with  the  court  of  Madrid. 
Unable  to  obtain  the  restitution  of  Tuscany,  the 
queen  set  out  on  her  homeward  journey  and  reached 
Aranjuez  on  February  19,  1808,  to  find  her  worst 
forebodings  realised. 

The  dream  of  adding  Spain  to  his  ever-broadening 
empire  had  long  haunted  Napoleon.  "  My  dynasty," 
he  had  said  significantly,  "  will  soon  be  the  oldest 
in  Europe."  When  Charles  IV.  refused  to  recognise 
the  new  king  of  Naples  his  comment  was,  "  His 
successor  will."  We  have  seen  how  his  schemes  had 
been   frustrated   by    some   well-timed   concession   or 


The  Invasion  253 

some  threat  of  resistance  on  the  part  of  Godoy. 
But  now,  as  Napier  remarks,  the  dispute  between 
father  and  son  placed  the  golden  apples  within  his 
reach,  and  he  resolved  to  gather  the  fruit  if  he  had 
not  planted  the  tree.  The  partisans  of  the  prince  of 
Asturias — and  they  included  by  far  the  greatest  part 
of  the  nation — were  ready  to  hail  him  as  a  deliverer 
and  a  protector.  By  a  strange  irony,  the  one 
Spaniard  he  had  cause  to  fear  was  regarded  by  his 
countrymen  as  a  tyrant  and  a  traitor. 

In  spite  of  the  contempt  which  Napoleon  had  for 
Beauharnais,  he  eagerly  perused  his  highly  coloured 
accounts  of  events  at  Madrid.  To  confirm  them  he 
sent  his  confidential  messenger,  M.  de  Tournon,  into 
Spain  to  ascertain  the  sentiments  of  the  people.  I 
incline  to  think  that  this  emissary,  to  save  himself 
trouble,  contented  himself  with  what  Beauharnais 
told  him.  His  reports  agree  too  closely  with  the 
ambassador's  to  have  been  the  result  of  independent 
inquiries.  Perhaps  if  M.  de  Tournon  had  used  his 
own  eyes  and  ears  he  might  not  have  so  far  misled 
his  master  as  to  write  :  "  The  Prince  of  the  Peace  is 
the  tool  of  the  English.  An  army  of  30,000  men 
would  be  more  than  enough  to  dictate  to  Spain." 

The  revelations  of  the  Escurial,  the  activity  of  the 
French  agents  in  Spain,  the  obvious  reluctance  of  the 
emperor  to  publish  the  treaty,  satisfied  Godoy  that 
foul  mischief  was  brewing.  A  heavy  concentration 
of  troops  was  reported  on  the  French  side  of  the 
frontier.  Masses  of  men  were  moving  up  towards 
Bayonne  as  if  to  take  the  place  of  that  army  of  reserve 
which,  by  the  terms  of  the  convention,  was  to  enter 
Spain  only  in  the  event  of  an  English  invasion.     More 


254  Godoy  :   the  Queen's  Favourite 

ominous  still,  an  army  was  collecting  around  Perpignan 
so  as  to  threaten  Catalonia.  That  force  was  clearly 
not  destined  for  Portugal. 

Godoy  was  haggard  with  anxiety.  "  Anarchy," 
he  writes,  *'  prevailed  in  the  seat  of  government  and 
Charles  IV.  stood  alone.  In  such  an  extremity  I 
knew  that  my  own  ruin  was  practically  certain,  but 
if  I  had  several  times  before  begged  for  my  dismissal, 
I  looked  on  it  as  infamous  to  abandon  the  king 
when  I  saw  him  thus  and  when  more  than  ever  he 
needed  my  assistance.  I  looked,  too,  at  my  country, 
and  saw  how  infatuated  men  were  preparing  its  total 
ruin  or  at  least  its  decay  and  ignominy.  Even  were 
it  certain,  I  said  to  myself,  that  Bonaparte  had  re- 
solved to  place  the  prince  of  Asturias  on  the  throne, 
he  would  not  do  it  without  reward  ;  the  integrity 
of  Spain,  so  happily  preserved  amid  all  the  transfor- 
mations of  Europe,  would  not  long  escape  his  claws. 
And  what  nations  did  this  great  man  ever  undertake 
to  protect  without  in  the  end  making  them  his  tri- 
butaries and  vassals  ?  and  what  else  were  the  princes 
who  had  accepted  his  protection  but  the  mere 
prefects  of  his  empire  ?  Spain  would  become  another 
recruiting-ground  for  the  imperial  armies,  like  Italy 
and  Germany.  Napoleon  would  attempt  to  embroil 
the  country  between  two  powerful  and  hostile  factions^ 
then  offer  his  mediation,  and  finally  dismember  or 
sequestrate  the  kingdom. 

"  His  designs  I  penetrated,  but  not  the  manner  in 
which  they  were  to  be  carried  out.  Sure  of  a  great 
evil  approaching  rapidly,  I  lay  awake  devising  schemes 
for  counteracting  the  plans  of  this  restless,  daring, 
arrogant  man.     Persuaded  that  Spain  could  be  saved 


The  Invasion  255 

only  by  a  union  of  hearts  and  objects,  I  would  have 
urged  on  Charles  IV.  the  heroic  course  of  abdication 
had  not  his  son  already  half  sold  himself  to  the  French 
and  laid  himself  under  obligations  which  would  have 
meant  the  total  subjection  of  Spain.  Bonaparte 
would  have  disposed  of  the  country  at  his  pleasure, 
leaving  her  sovereign  the  merest  ghost  of  his  dignity 
and  making  him  a  prisoner  more  surely  than  he  ever 
was  at  Valen^ay. 

"  If  Prince  Ferdinand,  so  ambitious  of  the  throne, 
had  possessed  the  talents  and  the  virtues  necessary 
to  save  Spain  and  defend  his  house  in  that  terrible 
crisis,  I  would  have  asked  the  king  to  place  the  crown 
on  his  head  ;  and  I  say  also  that,  if  I  had  loved  my 
country  less,  I  would  assuredly  have  adopted  this 
means  of  transforming  this  prince's  sentiments  towards 
me.  I  could,  so  much  more  easily  than  Ceballos, 
have  procured  his  friendship  and  confidence  without 
having  had  recourse  to  anything  but  my  influence  over 
his  august  father.  I  might  then  have  retired  in  peace 
to  my  estates  or  have  accompanied  Charles  IV.,  not 
as  a  poor  pilgrim  in  foreign  lands,  but  into  the  heart 
of  my  own  country.  That  I  did  not  do  so  and  thus 
rejected  the  chance  of  saving  myself,  helpless  as  I 
stood,  and  exposed  to  lose  my  head,  my  country  ought 
at  least  to  rememiber  and  to  count  me  among  her 
loyal  sons  who  have  sacrificed  to  her  their  safety,  their 
honour,  and  their  existence." 

Godoy  had,  in  fact,  made  a  vain  effort  to  escape 
this  crushing  burden  of  a  dying  nation.  Having 
reconciled  Ferdinand  with  his  father,  he  proposed  to 
withdraw  from  the  court,  that  it  might  not  be  said 
that  he  was  any  longer  a  bar  to  their  complete  union. 


256  Godoy:   the  Queen^s  Favourite 

Charles  replied  that  his  retirement  would  be  uni- 
versally attributed  to  the  influence  of  the  French 
emperor,  and  would  thus  bring  the  crown  into  con- 
tempt ;  moreover,  he  could  replace  him  only  by 
ministers  definitely  opposed  or  secretly  favourable  to 
France,  both  being  equally  fatal  to  the  State. 

Godoy  then  proposed  to  propitiate  the  princess 
partisans  by  surrendering  the  command  of  the  army. 
"  And  so  sacrifice  the  opportunity  afforded  us  under 
the  treaty  of  Fontainebleau  of  having  a  Spaniard  in 
command  of  the  allied  forces  in  Portugal  ?  "  queried 
the  king.  "  No  ;  you  can  give  up  the  Admiralty  if 
you  like,  if  you  think  that  will  give  pleasure  to  Fer- 
dinand. Let  us  ask  him."  The  prince  was  sent  for 
and  his  father  repeated  to  him  Manuel's  request  and 
the  motives  which  prompted  it.  His  royal  highness 
professed  to  be  pained  and  shocked  at  the  proposal. 
He  owed  to  his  dear  Manuel  his  happy  restoration  to 
his  father's  favour,  and  he  begged  him,  as  a  supreme 
favour,  never  to  desert  him.  The  prince  may  at  the 
moment  have  been  swayed  by  some  rare  impulse  of 
gratitude  or  generosity.  He  could  hardly  have  fore- 
seen the  fate  to  which  he  was  dooming  the  unhappy 
friend  of  his  father. 

On  December  24  the  army  of  reserve  commanded 
by  General  Dupont  stationed  at  Bayonne  crossed  the 
Bidassoa  without  notice  to  the  Spanish  authorities  or 
permission  from  the  Spanish  Government  and  advanced 
slowly  towards  Burgos.  The  treaty  had  specifically 
laid  it  down  that  this  corps  should  not  enter  Spain 
except  with  the  consent  of  both  the  contracting 
parties  and  in  the  event  of  an  attack  by  England. 
But  the  articles  of  the  treaty  vvere  secret,  and  the 


The  Invasion  257 

people  cheered  the  troops  as  they  passed,  some  be- 
lieving that  they  were  on  their  way  to  reinforce 
Junot's  army  in  Portugal,  others  hoping  that  they 
had  come  to  rescue  their  idol  Ferdinand  from  the 
clutches  of  the  Choricero.  Behind  Dupont  closed  up 
another  army  under  Moncey ;  Duhesme  was  ap- 
proaching the  Catalan  frontier  with  rapid  strides — 
and  it  could  not  be  pretended  that  Catalonia  lay  on 
the  road  to  Portugal. 

"  Before  long,"  said  Godoy  to  his  king,  ''  the  plains 
which  you  see  from  the  windows  of  the  Escurial 
will  be  white  with  the  tents  of  Napoleon's  armies. 
The  eagle  has  come  to  pluck  your  crown  from  your 
head."  Aroused  at  last  to  a  full  sense  of  his  danger, 
Charles  convened  his  Council.  Godoy  recommended 
him  to  appeal  to  the  sixth  article  of  the  secret  con- 
vention and  to  insist  that  the  French  troops  should 
at  once  suspend  their  march  till  the  emperor  had 
returned  from  Italy  and  an  understanding  could  be 
arrived  at  between  the  two  courts.  It  was  absurd 
to  pretend  that  these  troops  were  needed  for  the 
occupation  of  Portugal ;  they  were  a  menace  to  Spain, 
and  to  Spain  only.  "  I  spoke  for  more  than  an  hour," 
says  Godoy,  "  with  the  more  heat  since  I  saw  in  the 
passing  moments  the  last  hope  of  restraining  Bona- 
parte or  of  thrusting  him  back  by  force  of  arms." 

But  he  spoke  in  vain.  "  If  the  emperor  insists  on 
the  entrance  of  his  troops,  what  then  ?  "  asked  the 
king.  "  Appeal  to  the  nation  and  defend  ourselves 
as  best  we  can."  "  An  heroic  but  desperate  reso- 
lution !  "  exclaimed  his  majesty.  The  other  coun- 
cillors were  of  his  opinion.  The  minister  of  Marine 
suggested  that   Napoleon  probably  distrusted  certain 


258  Godoy :   the  Queen^s  Favourite 

influences  at  work  in  his  ally's  court  and  therefore 
found  it  necessary  to  strengthen  his  hold  on  Spain. 
The  shaft  was,  of  course,  directed  at  Godoy.  "  I 
am  well  aware,"  retorted  the  generalissimo,  "  that 
I  am  represented  throughout  the  kingdom  as  the 
peculiar  object  of  the  emperor's  animosity ;  but 
he  does  not  violate  treaties  and  set  his  armies  in 
motion  solely  to  attack  me.  And  this  I  will  say  : 
that  if  our  lord  the  king  here  present  does  not 
inspire  him  with  confidence,  neither  will  that  other 
person  of  whom  some  are  thinking.  In  the  long 
run,  of  course,  I  shall  be  blamed  for  this  invasion. 
I  shall  have  no  other  defence,  then,  than  the  testimony 
of  his  majesty  and  of  you  gentlemen  to  what  I  have 
said  this  day." 

Unable  to  avert  his  country's  ruin,  he  again  offered 
his  resignation  to  the  king.  Junot,  he  tells  us,  had 
invited  him  to  take  possession  of  his  principality  of 
Algarve — possibly,  as  he  suggests,  to  remove  him  from 
Madrid.  "  False,  unstable,  and  vain,"  he  wrote, 
"  as  was  the  position  offered  me  by  Junot,  it  was 
in  truth  less  dangerous  than  that  which  I  held  at 
court,  without  any  better  security  than  the  good-will 
of  Charles  IV.  Had  I  gone  to  Alemtejo,  at  the  first 
outrage  committed  by  Bonaparte  upon  my  sovereigns 
and  my  country,  I  should  at  kast  have  been  able  to 
raise  Portugal  and  two-thirds  of  Spain,  to  collect  a 
large  army,  to  open  up  communication  with  several 
cabinets,  and  in  the  last  resort  to  open  our  ports  to 
the  English.  The  king  would  have  had  a  safe  place 
of  refuge,  and  Spain  would  have  seen  in  me  a  true 
friend.  I  showed  Junot's  letter  to  the  king  and  gave 
him  my  views.      *  If,'  I  added,  '  as  I  do  not  expect, 


The  Invasion  259 

the  treaty  is  fulfilled  and  Bonaparte  conducts  himself 
honestly,  I  shall  be  able  to  renounce  the  principality  in 
favour  of  one  of  your  sons.  Perhaps,  too,  my  retire- 
ment to  Portugal  may  remove  Bonaparte's  distrust 
of  my  influence  on  the  affairs  of  Spain ;  perhaps, 
too.  It  will  appease  that  faction  which  never  tires  of 
working  against  me.' 

"  '  No,^  replied  Charles  IV.,  interrupting  me,  '  that 
faction  pretends  to  work  against  you,  but  is  in  reality 
working  against  me.  I  have  reason  afresh  to  suspect 
Ferdinand  ;  I  fear  that  he  is  in  more  or  less  intimate 
relation  with  your  foes  and  mine  ;  I  fear  that  Bona- 
parte is  playing  a  double  game  and  may  attempt  a 
scandalous  division  which  would  result  in  the  last 
indignity  to  my  crown  and  my  person.  Ferdinand  is 
no  longer  frank  with  me.  He  is  embarrassed  when  I 
converse  with  him,  and  always  speaks  of  Bonaparte 
with  great  enthusiasm.  In  the  ministers  I  notice  a 
suspicious  reserve  ;  I  remark  a  species  of  coldness  and 
evasiveness  in  more  than  one  person  in  my  court ; 
and  now  you  wish  to  leave  me,  the  only  man  on  whom 
I  can  absolutely  rely,  whom  neither  Bonaparte  nor 
my  son  could  seduce  !  Remain  beside  me,  let  us  seek 
some  way  out  of  our  difliculties,  and  trust  in  God,  who 
knows  my  intentions.  If,  in  spite  of  all,  misfortune 
overtakes  us,  let  us  go  together  and  congratulate 
ourselves  that  at  least  we  have  not  been  the  cause  of 
it.'  " 

Then  came  ominous  news  from  Portugal.  On 
February  i  Junot,  by  order  of  the  emperor,  de- 
clared at  Lisbon  that  the  house  of  Bragan^a  had  ceased 
to  reign.  It  was  easy,  then,  to  decree  the  extinction 
of  an  ancient  dynasty.     On  the  same  day  a  messenger 


26o  Godoy  :  the  Queen''s  Favourite 

from  the  Tuileries  reached  Madrid.  He  brought  the 
long-expected  answer  to  the  king's  letter  of  Novem- 
ber 10.  The  emperor  was  not  prepared  to  con- 
sider a  matrimonial  alliance  between  his  house  and 
his  catholic  majesty's  till  he  knew  whether  or  not 
the  prince  of  Asturias  had  been  absolved  of  the 
charges  made  against  him  and  restored  to  his  father's 
favour ;  as  to  the  treaty,  its  publication  must  be 
delayed  yet  longer,  and  the  ex-queen  of  Etruria  and 
Godoy  must  wait  in  patience  for  the  principalities 
promised  them. 

Within  the  last  two  months  Charles  IV.,  robust 
sportsman  though  he  had  been,  had  grown  an  old 
man.  Nervous  and  haggard,  he  glanced  over  the 
letter  and  paled  at  its  imperious  tone.  "  These 
dreadful  complications !  "  he  groaned.  "  I  will  settle 
them,  I  will  settle  them !  The  emperor  may  be  sure 
of  me.  My  feelings  towards  him  are  unchanged — 
always,  always.  I  will  reply  presently."  And,  eight 
days  later,  the  messenger  started  on  his  homeward 
journey,  bearing  a  mere  acknowledgment  of  his 
master's  despatch.  On  the  road  home  he  heard  the 
Spaniards  discussing  the  projected  marriage  of  their 
future  sovereign  with  the  daughter  of  Lucien  Bona- 
parte, and  congratulating  each  other  that  the  French 
had  come  to  pull  down  his  cruel  enemy,  Godoy. 

They  were  thus  less  concerned  to  hear  that  the 
French  had  possessed  themselves,  by  an  adroit  strata- 
gem, of  the  fortress  of  Pampeluna,  the  key  of  the 
Pyrenean  passes.  General  Darmagnac,  having  arrived 
with  his  brigade,  took  up  his  quarters  in  a  house  oppo- 
site the  drawbridge  of  the  citadel.  In  the  early 
morning   of   February    i6   a   small  party  of  his  men 


The  Invasion  261 

surprised  the  sentry  and  the  guard,  and,  at  a  given 
signal,  a  hundred  grenadiers  concealed  in  their  general's 
house  rushed  to  their  support.  The  bridge  being 
secured,  a  whole  battalion  was  admitted  into  the  heart 
of  the  fortress,  with  profuse  apologies  to  the  governor, 
for  what  Darmagnac  himself  described  as  a  dirty- 
business.  Two  days  before  Godoy  had  addressed  in- 
structions to  Vallesantoro,  the  viceroy  of  Navarre, 
blaming  him  for  having  allowed  the  French  to 
encamp  on  the  glacis  of  the  fortress  and  bidding 
him  to  be  on  his  guard.  Now  his  warning  had  been 
disregarded,  he  could  do  no  more  than  direct  the 
viceroy  to  protest  formally  to  Darmagnac's  superior 
officer.  Marshal  Moncey.  A  protest  was  the  only 
offensive  weapon  which  Charles  IV.  would  give  him 
power  to  use. 

Meantime  Duhesme  had  marched  his  army  along 
the  coast  of  Catalonia  to  Barcelona.  The  captain- 
general,  Santa  Clara,  consented  to  his  passage  on  the 
understanding  that  he  was  bound  for  Cadiz  by  way 
of  Valencia.  On  February  29  by  a  trick,  similar  to 
Darmagnac's,  he  gained  possession  of  the  citadel. 
To  Alvarez  Mariano,  the  governor  of  Montjuich, 
Godoy  had  sent  express  orders  not  to  admit  more 
than  five  Frenchmen  at  any  one  time  into  the  strong- 
hold. Mariano  obeyed,  and,  on  the  approach  of 
Duhesme,  raised  the  drawbridge.  The  French  general 
straightway  told  the  captain-general  that  he  would 
storm  the  fortress  if  it  were  not  peaceably  surrendered. 
The  Spaniard  weakly  gave  way,  defending  himself 
afterwards  with  the  excuse  that  the  foreign  troops 
were  absolutely  in  need  of  protection  against  the 
townsfolk. 


262  Godoy  :   the  Quecn^s  Favourite 

Commanded  by  his  king  to  avoid  a  conflict  with  the 
invaders  at  all  hazards,  Godoy  could  only  gnash  his 
teeth  at  the  weakness  of  his  subordinates  and  repeat 
the  orders  he  had  himself  received  :  ''  Keep  the  French 
out  if  you  can,  but  don't  fight."  Summoned  to 
admit  the  French  into  San  Sebastian,  the  viceroy  of 
the  Basque  provinces  applied  to  Madrid  for  instruc- 
tions. He  was  told  to  surrender  the  place  amicably. 
In  this  individual  case  resistance  would,  for  that 
matter,  have  been  useless.  It  would  also  have  been 
specially  impolitic,  for  the  demand  was  made — and 
in  the  most  courteous  terms — by  the  dashing  Murat, 
grand-duke  of  Berg,  who  now  arrived  in  Spain  as 
the  lieutenant  and  representative  of  his  imperial 
brother-in-law ;  and  in  him  Godoy  might  have 
placed  great  hopes,  based  on  a  long  friendly  corre- 
spondence and  exchange  of  presents. 

But  any  doubt  as  to  Napoleon's  intentions  was 
dispelled  by  the  unexpected  appearance  at  the  court 
of  Izquierdo.  Seeking  first  Godoy,  he  told  him  that 
he  was  charged  by  the  emperor  with  a  message  for 
the  private  ear  of  the  king,  but  that  it  was  of  so 
grave  a  nature  that  his  majesty  would  certainly  require 
the  help  of  his  advisers.  "  If  the  king  needs  me,  he 
will  command  my  presence,"  replied  the  favourite  ; 
and  presently  he  was  sent  for  by  his  sovereign.  Never 
before  had  Charles  stood  more  in  need  of  help. 
The  wolf  had  framed  his  indictment  against  the  lamb. 

Napoleon,  in  a  long  conversation  with  Izquierdo, 
had  raked  together  long-forgotten  and  imaginary 
grievances  against  his  ally,  which  the  envoy  had  noted 
and  committed  to  writing  under  eighteen  separate 
heads.     This   universal   benefactor   felt  it   to  be  his 


The  Invasion  263 

duty  to  restore  the  blessings  of  peace  to  Europe  at  all 
hazards,  by  any  means,  "  regular  or  irregular,  violent 
or  pacific,  ordinary  or  extraordinary."  Having  es- 
tablished peace  on  a  permanent  basis  in  northern 
Europe,  his  majesty  feared  that  the  arch-enemy  of 
mankind,  England,  would  seek  a  field  for  her  pestilent 
activity  in  the  south.  To  defeat  these  abominable 
designs,  he  had  concluded  with  his  ally  the  bene- 
ficent treaty  of  Fontainebleau  ;  and,  being  aware 
that  an  English  party  existed  at  the  court  of  Madrid, 
he  had  even  thought  it  necessary  to  guarantee  the 
throne  of  Charles  IV.  But  now,  with  indignation 
and  dismay,  he  found  that  this  malevolent  party  had 
stirred  up  bad  blood  between  the  two  courts,  even 
imputing  iniquitous  and  treacherous  designs  to  him 
and  to  his  ambassador.  These  charges  had  not  been 
investigated — (his  imperial  majesty,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, had  forbidden  any  inquiry  to  be  made  !) — 
and,  to  his  profound  mortification,  the  king  of  Spain 
had  contented  himself  with  passing  these  allegations 
over  in  silence  at  the  recent  state  trial. 

In  fact,  the  emperor  could  not  but  observe,  with 
regret  and  apprehension,  the  coldness  of  his  royal 
ally.  A  Spanish  squadron  lay  idle  at  Cartagena, 
though  he  had  repeatedly  asked  that  it  might  be 
united  with  his  fleet  at  Toulon  ;  the  consuls  reported 
that  commerce  with  France  was  subjected  to  vexatious 
restrictions ;  English  goods  were  smuggled  into  Spain 
with  the  tacit  connivance  of  the  authorities  ;  and — 
most  striking  and  inexplicable  fact  of  all ! — Spain  now 
maintained  an  army  nearly  four  times  as  great  as 
the  expeditionary  force  the  emperor  had  sent  into 
the  country.     (This  was  tantamount  to  saying  that 


264  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

Spain  had  nearly  four  hundred  thousand  men  under 
arms  !)  In  view  of  so  unfriendly  an  attitude,  France 
was  bound  in  duty  to  her  own  troops,  scattered  among 
a  foreign  and  hostile  population,  to  occupy  the  for- 
tresses which  protected  or  menaced  their  rear,  which, 
too,  they  needed  for  hospitals  and  magazines.  To 
save  his  catholic  majesty  the  unpleasant  results  of 
a  refusal,  the  emperor  had  therefore  given  orders  to 
his  generals  to  occupy  these  strongholds  as  peaceably 
as  possible. 

If  the  prince  of  Asturias  had  in  reality  conspired 
against  his  august  father,  so  far  from  admitting  him 
to  the  honour  of  any  alliance,  his  imperial  majesty 
would  hear  with  pleasure  of  his  disinheritance.  The 
conflict  of  parties  at  the  Spanish  court  left  the  future 
so  uncertain  that  France  was  now  obliged  to  protect 
herself  against  a  possible  change  of  policy.  The 
emperor  therefore  proposed  to  hand  over  the  whole 
of  Portugal  to  his  ally  in  exchange  for  the  Spanish 
provinces  between  the  Pyrenees  and  the  Ebro,  or  at 
least  to  erect  these  into  a  neutral  buffer  State. 

The  exchange  presented  advantages  to  Spain, 
relieving  her  for  ever  of  any  anxiety  on  her  western 
border  and  of  the  necessity  of  guaranteeing  France 
a  right  of  way  across  her  territory  to  Portugal.  The 
emperor  trusted  that  his  catholic  majesty  would 
acquiesce  in  this  exchange,  as  otherwise  the  time  might 
come  when  France  would  be  obliged  to  take  the 
Ebro  provinces  without  having  anything  to  offer  in 
their  stead.  In  conclusion,  it  was  proposed  to  re- 
establish the  old  family  compact  of  the  Bourbons, 
but  even  more  strictly. 

Here,   then,  was  the  explanation  of  the  seizure  of 


The  Invasion  265 

the  northern  fortresses.  Having  virtually  annexed  the 
provinces  north  of  the  Ebro,  the  emperor  intimated  to 
their  lawful  sovereign  that  he  could,  if  he  liked,  take 
Portugal  in  exchange.  But  was  this  the  true  and  the 
complete  design  ?  Izquierdo  thought  so.  He  was 
convinced  that  Napoleon  meant  to  have  the  provinces 
and  so  to  drag  Spain  at  his  chariot's  wheel,  as  he 
dragged  the  German  and  Italian  States.  Hervas, 
the  brother-in-law  of  Duroc,  did  not  believe  that 
the  emperor  would  attempt  to  seize  the  throne 
during  the  life  of  Charles  IV.,  but  he  might  find  a 
pretext  for  setting  aside  his  successor  ;  and  that,  in 
the  meantime,  he  would  be  ready  to  use  the  prince 
as  an  instrument  against  his  father  was  not  to  be 
doubted. 

It  is  to  the  honour  of  Charles  IV.  that  he  was  not 
prepared  to  purchase  his  personal  security  by  handing 
over  a  million  of  his  subjects  to  a  foreign  yoke.  The 
monarchs  of  Bavaria  and  Saxony  had  accepted 
Napoleon  as  their  lord  paramount  and  had  been 
richly  rewarded  for  their  submission  with  an  enhance- 
ment of  dignity  and  substantial  increment  of  terri- 
tory. The  proposed  exchange,  moreover,  was  not 
disadvantageous  to  Spain.  The  Catalans  and  Basques 
had  proved  subjects  quite  as  troublesome  as  the 
Portuguese  were  during  the  sixty  years  of  Spanish 
rule.  Lisbon,  the  natural  capital  of  the  peninsula, 
and  Oporto,  with  its  vast  wine  trade,  might  well  have 
compensated  the  king  for  the  loss  of  Barcelona  and 
Saragossa.  And  if  Spain  lost  a  strong  frontier  towards 
France,  it  was  true,  as  Napoleon  pointed  out,  that 
she  would,  under  the  new  arrangement,  have  but  that 
one  frontier  to  defend.     It  is  worth  observing,  also, 


266  Godoy:   the  Queen^s  Favourite 

that  not  only  Izquierdo,  but  Escoiquiz,  Ceballos,  and 
all  the  friends  of  the  prince  of  Asturias,  believed  until 
the  twelfth  hour  that  such  a  concession  would  satisfy 
the  enemy. 

The  old  king  had  listened  to  the  long  indictment 
recited  by  Izquierdo,  and  with  a  firmness  and  dignity 
not  perhaps  to  have  been  expected  of  him,  replied 
categorically  to  each  of  the  counts.  The  emperor 
not  having  addressed  Charles  directly,  Izquierdo  was 
charged  to  note  this  rejoinder  and  to  communicate 
it  to  him  by  word  of  mouth.  His  catholic  majesty 
pointed  out  that  his  confidence  in  his  imperial  majesty 
was  sufficiently  shown  by  his  having  suffered  French 
troops  to  possess  themselves  of  his  fortresses  without 
any  previous  notice.  His  son  was  fully  restored  to 
his  favour,  and  nothing  could  be  further  from  his 
thoughts  than  any  alteration  in  the  law  of  succession. 
He  relied  on  the  clause  of  the  treaty  by  which  his 
imperial  majesty  guaranteed  to  him  the  full  posses- 
sion and  integrity  of  his  dominions  south  of  the 
Pyrenees.  If  the  emperor  saw  the  necessity  for  any 
further  strengthening  of  the  bonds  between  them,  his 
catholic  majesty  must  take  steps  to  make  it  plain  that 
he  was  not  acting  under  compulsion  or  coerced  by 
the  presence  of  the  French  armies.  This  last  clause, 
Godoy  tells  us,  was  added  to  explain  or  to  excuse  the 
retreat  to  Seville  which  the  king  now  meditated. 
Napoleon  himself  might  prefer  his  demands  to  be 
conceded  by  a  sovereign  nominally  free  than  to  be 
obviously  extorted  by  force. 

This  defence,  completely  vindicating  the  king  of 
Spain,  inspired  Godoy  with  very  faint  hopes.  In 
this  dolorous  extremity,  he  informs  us,  he  received 


MARIA    LUISA,    QUEEN    OF    ETRURIA. 


267 


The  Invasion  269 

a  suggestion  from  tlie  queen  of  Etruria — the  only- 
member  of  the  Spanish  royal  family  who  had  ever 
seen  or  spoken  with  the  emperor.  Fully  persuaded 
that  he  would  take  the  northern  provinces  if  they  were 
not  given  to  him,  this  princess  proposed  that  they 
should  be  erected,  with  his  consent,  into  a  kingdom 
for  her  little  son,  Charles  Louis,  in  exchange  for 
Etruria.  The  scheme  seemed  practicable,  and  Godoy 
asked  permission  to  submit  it  to  Napoleon  on  his  own 
responsibility,  without  compromising  his  sovereign 
in  any  way.  To  this  the  king  was  loath  to  consent, 
objecting  that  it  would  weaken  the  force  of  his  own 
reply  communicated  by  Izquierdo.  In  the  end, 
however,  he  gave  way. 

Godoy  proposed  to  the  emperor  that  the  Ebro 
provinces  should  be  constituted  a  separate  viceroyalty 
until  the  general  peace,  or  else  into  a  separate  kingdom 
under  the  ex-king  of  Etruria  or  another  Spanish 
prince  of  the  blood.  In  conclusion,  he  offered  to 
withdraw  from  Spain,  since  his  continuance  at  the 
court  appeared  to  stand  in  the  way  of  a  settlement. 
The  letter  was  approved  somewhat  grudgingly  by  the 
king  and  handed  to  Izquierdo.  A  few  hours  later, 
however,  the  envoy  came  to  Godoy  at  Madrid  and 
told  him  that  his  majesty  had,  after  mature  reflection, 
entrusted  him  with  a  letter  in  his  own  hand  to 
Napoleon,  intended  to  soften  the  asperity  of  his 
official  reply. 

Izquierdo  then  sped  on  towards  the  north,  in  his 
haste  to  avert  the  ruin  of  a  nation.  Before  he  reached 
the  Ebro  he  was  overtaken  by  another  messenger. 
Godoy,  reflecting  that  his  letter  to  the  emperor  might 
clash  with  the  king's,  or  impair  its  effect,  ordered  his 
16 


270  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

agent  to  return  it,  remarking  that,  if  it  were  now 
published,  it  might  injure  him  too  much  in  the 
estimation  of  the  provinces  concerned  and  of  the 
kingdom.  The  suggestion  it  embodied  might,  how- 
ever, be  made  use  of  by  the  envoy  should  the  need 
arise. 

It  did  arise.     Izquierdo,  on  reaching  Paris,  found 
his    protests    against   the   aggressions    of    the   French 
troops    contemptuously    disregarded,    and    his   repre- 
sentations met  with  a  curt  ultimatum.     The  emperor 
was    determined  to  annex   the  frontier  provinces    in 
exchange    for    Portugal,  and  demanded    the  opening 
up  of  America  to  French  trade,  and  a  defensive  and 
offensive    alliance.       Moreover,    he    was    resolved  to 
settle,    once  for  all,  the  succession  to  the  throne  of 
Charles  IV.      The  envoy    contested   each  condition, 
repeating    Charles's  assurance    that  all  his  difficulties 
with    the    heir-apparent  were  composed,    and  fmally 
proposing    that    the    provinces    of  the   north  should 
be    allotted    to    a     Spanish    prince.       His    proposals 
and  explanations  were  hardly  listened  to — Napoleon 
would  not  even  suspend  the  march  of  his  troops  upon 
Madrid    until    a    final    reply  was    received    from    the 
court.     "  I    presume    that    they   will    at   least    arrest 
their    advance   when    the    ultimatum    is    accepted," 
wrote   Izquierdo  on  March  24  ;    "I  will  never  sign 
a    treaty  ceding  my   own    country    of    Navarre,"    he 
added  desperately.     That  sacrifice  was  not  demanded 
of  him — while  he  wrote,  the  masters  that  he  served 
had  no  longer  power  to  save  or  to  alienate  an  acre 
of  Spanish  land. 


CHAPTER   XV 

ARANJUEZ 

Charles  IV.,  unknown  to  his  people,  had  determined 
upon  flight.  Most  reluctant  to  leave  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Madrid,  where  for  so  many  years  he  had 
hunted  all  day  and  dozed  contentedly  at  eve,  he  had 
yielded  at  last  to  the  entreaties  of  his  wife  and  Godoy. 
The  columns  of  Moncey  and  Dupont  were  converging 
on  the  capital ;  Murat  was  approaching  to  treat,  not 
as  the  ambassador,  but  as  the  lieutenant  of  the  emperor. 
A  few  days  more  and  the  king  would  find  himself 
a  prisoner  in  his  own  palace  in  the  midst  of  foreign 
hosts.  But  beyond  the  Sierra,  at  Seville,  he  might 
make  terms  with  the  invader.  There  his  troops 
might  rally  round  him,  there  he  could  appeal  to  the 
loyalty  of  the  people.  The  French  ships  locked  up 
in  the  port  of  Cadiz  since  the  morrow  of  Trafalgar, 
would  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  Spanish  batteries.  The 
way  then  lay  open,  should  Seville  no  longer  prove 
a  safe  retreat,  to  the  Balearic  Islands.  The  French, 
powerless  at  sea,  could  not  attack  the  king  there.  At 
no  time,  we  are  assured  by  Godoy,  did  Charles 
meditate  abandoning  his  people  and  following  the 
Bragangas  to  America. 

The  favourite,  with  a  heavy  heart,  made  his  pre- 
parations as  secretly  as  possible  and  went  about  as 
usual.     He  did  not  increase  his  guard,  his  house  was 

271 


272  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

still  open  to  all,  his  ante-chambers  were  as  crowded  as 
ever.  Yet  among  the  throng  he  noticed  men  who 
could  be  there  only  to  spy  on  his  movements.  Some 
were  agents  of  Ferdinand,  some  of  Beauharnais.  For 
a  long  time  past,  the  ambassador  reports,  chests  and 
coffers  had  been  conveyed  out  of  the  generalissimo's 
house  by  night  and  transported  on  the  backs  of  mules 
to  some  unknown  destination.  If  so,  it  seems  from 
the  sequel  that  only  a  very  small  part  of  the  treasure 
thus  removed  was  recovered  by  the  owner.  Largesses 
were  distributed  among  the  generalissimo's  guards. 

Meantime,  couriers  were  galloping  along  all  the 
roads  to  Portugal,  bidding  the  Spanish  generals 
return  at  once,  with  all  their  forces,  to  defend  their 
own  sovereign.  Junot,  anticipating  such  an  order, 
had  broken  up  Carafa's  corps  and  dispersed  it  in  small 
detachments  within  a  cordon  of  his  own  troops. 
Taranco  and  Solano  were,  however,  able  to  withdraw 
their  divisions  to  Galicia  and  Estremadura. 

So  far  these  movements  had  not  aroused  much 
curiosity  in  Madrid.  The  country  was  nominally  at 
war  with  England  and  Portugal,  there  had  of  late  been 
much  marching  to  and  fro  the  frontier.  But  the 
approach  of  the  French  set  the  city  agog  with  wonder 
and  excitement.  Did  they  come  as  friends  or  foes  ? 
did  they  come  to  help  the  prince  of  Asturias  or  the 
Prince  of  the  Peace  ?  There  were  conflicting  rumours. 
Meanwhile  Beauharnais  had  noted  the  preparations 
for  departure.  His  agents  spread  the  report  among 
the  people.  Alarm  and  distrust  became  general. 
While  a  few  of  the  wiser  sort  looked  upon  Napoleon 
as  the  common  foe,  the  multitude  were  early  induced 
to  believe  that  he  was  the  true  friend  of  Spain  and 


Aranjuez  273 

that  the  projected  departure  of  the  king  was  one  of 
Godoy's  devilish  artifices  to  thwart  his  benevolent 
intentions  and  to  avert  his  own  downfall. 

With  these  murmurs  sounding  ever  louder  in  his 
ears,  the  favourite  was  summoned  in  hot  haste  to 
Aranjuez.  The  king  had  lately  written  to  him, 
announcing  that  he  had  communicated  the  tenor 
of  Napoleon's  last  message  and  of  his  reply  to  his  son. 
The  prince,  indignant  at  the  threat  to  exclude  him 
from  the  throne,  had  professed  himself  convinced  of 
the  emperor's  falseness  and  declared  his  readiness  to 
follow  his  father  wherever  he  went.  But  the  satis- 
faction of  the  king  was  now  changed  to  alarm.  An- 
other anonymous  letter  had  reached  him,  adjuring  him 
to  place  his  trust  in  Napoleon,  bidding  him  beware 
of  Godoy  and  Izquierdo,  and  dissuading  him  from 
his  intended  flight.  "  This  letter,"  cried  his  majesty, 
"  proves  that  my  son  has  divulged  to  some  one  the 
particulars  of  our  conversation  !  " 

He  called  in  Caballero  and  asked  him  what  was 
the  prevailing  sentiment  of  the  people.  The  minister 
answered  that  the  people  had  heard  rumours  that 
the  court  intended  to  leave  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  capital  and  were  emphatically  opposed  to  such  a 
step.  Questioned,  he  admitted  that  he  thought  also 
such  a  course  a  most  unwise  one  and  sure  to  bring  on 
war.  "  Very  well,"  said  the  king,  "  now  go  to  my 
son  and  try  to  find  out  what  he  thinks."  Caballero 
replied  that  he  knew  already  :  the  prince  was  con- 
siderably affected  by  the  feeling  of  the  people,  and, 
it  was  to  be  feared,  might  at  the  last  moment  swerve 
from  the  promises  he  had  made  his  father.  "  Then 
you  know  what  he  promised  I  "   demanded  the  king. 


274  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

"  Yes,"  said  the  minister,  "  he  told  me  everything." 
*'  He  does  not,  I  suppose,  believe  what  I  told  him  ?  '* 
"  He  thinks  your  majesty  has  been  deceived."  "  Now 
I  see  that  my  son  is  in  league  with  my  enemies," 
cried  the  unhappy  father,  "  and  that  this  letter  is 
his  work.  Caballero,  I  believe  in  you.  Do  not 
betray  my  trust." 

It  was  plain  to  Godoy  that,  without  the  adhesion 
of  the  heir-apparent,  all  would  be  lost.     At  his  re- 
commendation, Charles  sent  for  his  son.     He  showed 
him  the  anonymous  letter,  and,  motioning  him  to  be 
silent,  addressed  him  in  a  dignified  and  paternal  tone. 
''  You  do  not,"  he  said,  "  approve  of  my  policy.     I 
make  you,  then,  this  offer.     I  will  withdraw  from  the 
capital  on  the  ground  of  ill-health  ;   I  will  appoint  you 
regent,  with  full  powers  to  act  and  to  treat  in  my  name; 
if  you   extricate   this   country  from   its   peril,   I   will 
associate  you  with  me  henceforward  in    the  govern- 
ment till  the  day  of  my  death,  which  cannot  be  far 
distant.     If  you   fail,   call  on   me   and   I  will  resume 
this   heavy   burden   without   reproaching   you.     Dis- 
union  between  us  means    the  ruin   of  this  kingdom. 
Manuel,  here  present,  concurs  with  me.     He  is  ready 
now  to  lay  down  all  his  offices,  to  divest  himself  of 
the  power  which   has  made  him  the    object  of    such 
unjust    attacks.     Reflect,    my    son,    on  what    I    have 
said,  but  take  counsel  from  no  one." 

The  king  was  silent.  Ferdinand  burst  into  tears 
and  fell  on  his  father's  shoulders.  He  protested 
again  that  he  had  no  will  but  his,  that  he  was  eager 
to  follow  in  all  things  so  divine  a.  parent.  He  declared 
himself  unworthy  of  the  honour  offered  him  ;  who 
was  he,  without  years  or  experience,  to  impose  respect 


Aranfucz  275 

on  Bonaparte  ?  Then,  turning  to  Godoy,  the  prince 
embraced  him  and  called  him  his  friend,  bidding  him 
save  the  nation,  as  he  had  saved  it  so  often  before. 

"I  am  certain,"  says  Godoy,  "that  the  prince 
quitted  his  father  with  the  firm  intention  of  sharing 
his  retreat,  and  that  he  announced  his  resolve  to  his 
partisans  to  silence  their  opposition."  Instead,  it 
spurred  them  on  to  fresh  exertions.  Among  the 
seducers  of  the  prince,  Godoy  names  his  uncle,  the 
Infante  Antonio,  a  stupid,  insignificant  old  fellow, 
who  had  devoted  his  few  energies  almost  entirely  to 
shooting  duck  on  an  island  in  the  Tagus.  The 
stirring  of  the  waters  had  brought  a  good  many 
tadpoles  to  the  surface,  where  they  puffed  themselves 
out  to  bursting-point.  Within  a  few  hours,  the  king's 
proposal  to  his  son  was  known  in  the  streets  of  the 
capital,  and  was  looked  upon  as  a  device  of  the  infernal 
generalissimo  to  stretch  Ferdinand  upon  the  cross 
instead  of  himself. 

The  departure  of  the  garrison  of  Madrid,  including 
the  various  corps  of  household  troops,  for  Aranjuez, 
raised  the  excitement  in  the  capital  to  fever-point. 
To  calm  the  people,  Godoy  drew  up  a  general  order 
explaining  that  the  movements  of  troops  were  in  no 
way  hostile  to  the  king's  good  friend  and  ally,  the 
emperor,  but  intended  solely  to  avoid  the  inconvenience 
resulting  from  the  too  close  association  of  large  bodies 
of  men,  friendly  but  foreign  to  each  other.  This 
prudently  conceived  notice  the  Council  of  Castile 
refused  to  publish.  That  grave  body  selected  this 
moment,  when  the  French  were  within  a  few  marches 
of  Madrid,  to  veto  the  orders  of  the  commander-in 
chief,    and,  by  their  refusal,   to  prolong  the  tumult 


2/6  Godoy :   the  Queen^s  Favourite 

among  the  king's  subjects.  The  usually  tranquil 
royal  residence  at  Aranjuez  was  now  in  turmoil. 
Caballero,  it  is  alleged/  had  incited  the  peasantry  of 
the  adjoining  country  to  oppose  the  king's  departure 
by  main  force. 

In  vain  Godoy  urged  his  master  to  hasten  away 
without  further  ado.  Against  the  natural  slowness  of 
his  countrymen  and  the  cumbrous  formality  of  the 
court,  danger  itself  pleaded  in  vain.  In  the  midst 
of  the  preparations  came  a  letter  from  Beauharnais, 
intimating  that  the  army  of  General  Duhesme,  on 
its  way  from  the  coast  to  Andalusia,  might  shortly 
be  expected  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Madrid.  "  We 
shall  be  taken  between  two  fires,"  cried  the  king. 
"  What  can  I  do  ?  I  do  not  want  to  exasperate  my 
subjects  and  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  French  as 
well.  I  do  not  refuse  to  go,  but  at  the  moment  it  is 
impossible." 

Without  listening  to  Godoy's  frantic  entreaties  to 
depart  at  once,  his  maj'esty  sent  for  Ceballos  and 
dictated  to  him  a  proclamation  intended  to  calm  the 
public.  "  In  no  act  of  his  life,"  observes  Godoy 
caustically,  *'  was  Charles  IV.  served  more  willingly 
or  more  readily."  In  a  few  hours  the  good  people  of 
Aranjuez  were  informed  from  every  wall  that  the 
French  armies  were  traversing  the  country  only  to 
protect  it  at  threatened  points  and  that  his  majesty, 
surrounded  by  the  love  and  devotion  of  his  subjects, 
had  no  thought  of  leaving  the  secure  asylum  in  which 
he  found  himself. 

The  announcement  provoked  a  salvo  of  applause. 

1  Lavauguyon  to  Murat :  "  Murat,  Lieutenant  de  I'Empereur 
en  Espagne." 


Aranjuez  277 

The  trim  gardens  of  the  royal  abode  were  instantly 
invaded  by  cheering  multitudes,  to  whom  the  king 
was  obliged  to  bow  his  acknowledgments  till  his  back 
ached.  "  A  very  frequent  prelude,"  comments 
Godoy,  "  to  revolutions." 

Was  the  king  altogether  sincere  ?  Godoy  confesses 
that  he  does  not  know.  He  neither  commanded  nor 
countermanded  the  next  preparations  for  the  journey. 
An  ofhcer  of  the  general  staff  was  sent  to  greet  Murat, 
who  was  now  at  Aranda,  and  to  elicit  his  intentions. 
Meanwhile  the  people  observed,  with  alarm  and 
suspicion,  that  trains  of  mules  laden  with  goods  con- 
tinued to  issue  from  the  palace,  in  spite  of  the  king's 
assurances.  Don  Antonio  asked  his  brother  if  it  was 
true  that  the  court  was  to  start  on  the  night  of 
the  17th,  adding  that  he  was  prepared  to  follow 
without  question.  "  Do  not  worry,"  replied  the 
king ;  "if  I  go,  it  will  not  be  by  night  or  stealthily, 
but  by  day  and  at  the  head  of  my  troops."  This 
answer  was  repeated  to  Ferdinand  and  to  Beauharnais. 
Both  were  convinced  that  the  idea  of  flight  had  not 
been  abandoned.  That  any  deliberate  resistance  was 
at  that  time  meditated  by  the  prince,  Godoy  does 
not  believe. 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th  the  people  of  Aranjuez 
were  awakened  by  the  tramping  of  marching  battalions. 
The  guards  had  arrived  from  Madrid,  heralding  the 
approach  of  4,000  Swiss  troops  from  Valdemoro  and 
the  Royal  Carbineers  from  Ocafia.  The  soldiers 
were  followed  by  a  multitude  of  the  townsfolk  of 
Madrid.  It  was  rumoured  at  first  that  the  French 
had  entered  the  capital ;  a  fresh  cause  for  anxiety  was 
soon  found  in  the  assemblage  of  travelling  carriages 


278  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

noticed  in  the  courtyard  of  the  palace.  An  uneasy 
feeling  was  abroad ;  yet  the  day  passed  quietly.  In 
the  evening  Godoy  found  the  king,  cheerful  and  con- 
fident, disposed  to  laugh  at  his  forebodings.  The 
favourite,  half-persuaded  that  all  was  well,  took  leave 
of  the  royal  family  at  ten  o'clock  and  quitted  the 
palace.     It  was  for  the  last  time. 

The  town  was  quiet.  The  streets  were  deserted, 
and  everything  was  as  usual.  There  seemed  to  be 
no  cause  for  alarm.  The  door  of  Godoy's  house  was 
open.  He  supped  contentedly  with  his  brother,  Diego, 
and  Colonel  Truyols,  the  commander  of  his  regiment 
of  hussars.  At  the  stroke  of  midnight  he  retired. 
He  had  begun  to  undress  when  the  profound  silence 
of  the  night  was  broken  by  a  pistol-shot.  He  stood 
motionless  and  listened.  He  heard  his  brother  and 
the  colonel  rush  to  the  door  and  alarm  the  guards. 
His  strained  hearing  caught  the  sound  of  horses'  hoofs 
and — yes — afar  off,  but  coming  nearer,  the  noise  of 
an  angry  multitude.  Throwing  a  cloak  over  his 
shoulders,  Godoy  rushed  upstairs  in  search  of  a  window 
that  overlooked  the  park  and  the  avenues  leading  to 
the  palace.  His  valet,  trembling,  followed  him. 
The  window  of  the  first  room  he  entered  looked  on  an 
inner  court.  He  turned  impatiently  to  seek  another 
vantage-point,  but  found  himself  trapped.  His  ser- 
vant, either  half-witted  through  terror  or  in  order  to 
shield  him,  had  locked  him  in,  and  thus  saved  his  life. 

He  heard  the  mob  break  like  an  angry  sea  against 
the  doors  of  his  house.  There  were  the  sounds  of  a 
very  brief  struggle,  of  flying  feet,  a  howl  of  triumph 
from  a  hundred  throats,  a  crashing  of  doors,  of  glass, 
of  furniture.     He  heard  the  people,  thirsting  for  his 


Aranjucz  279 

blood,  swarm  through  the  corridors,  rush  up  the  stairs, 
trample  in  the  courtyard.  His  guards,  hopelessly 
outnumbered,  had  fled.  He  heard  the  screams  of 
his  hated  wife.  They  were  soon  hushed.  Knowing 
that  she  was  no  friend  to  her  husband,  the  mob 
showed  her  every  mark  of  respect.  Soldiers  and 
civilians  lifted  her  on  their  shoulders  and  escorted 
her,  as  if  in  triumph,  to  the  palace  of  the  king — to 
the  palace,  absurdly  remarks  Thiers,  "  which  she 
should  never  have  quitted,"  and  to  which,  in  fact, 
she  obtained  the  right  of  entry  only  when  she  became 
the  wife  of  the  luckless  Godoy. 

Upon  her  departure  the  rioters  glutted  their 
vengeance  on  the  favourite's  house.  It  was  sacked 
from  cellar  to  attic ;  all  that  could  not  be  removed 
was  smashed.  With  an  almost  superstitious  regard 
for  royalty,  the  orders  which  the  king  had  so  liberally 
bestowed  on  his  beloved  minister  were  neither  stolen 
nor  profaned,  but  carefully  conveyed  to  the  palace  of 
the  giver.  By  a  miracle,  the  room  in  which  the  object 
of  the  mob's  hatred  lay  concealed  escaped  their 
search.  Some  assert  that  it  was  entered  and  that  the 
occupant  eluded  detection  by  hiding  within  a  roll 
of  matting.  This  is  obviously  the  wildest  conjecture, 
as,  if  it  had  been  noticed  where  he  was  hidden,  he 
could  not  have  escaped.  It  is  most  probable  that, 
not  finding  him  on  their  first  inrush,  his  enemies 
concluded  that  he  had  fled  across  the  park  at  their 
first  onset.  His  brother  and  his  officers  were  seized 
and  disarmed  and  imprisoned  in  the  barracks. 

Who  fired  the  first  shot  will  never  be  known.  It 
was  no  doubt  the  signal  preconcerted  by  the  con- 
spirators.    The  attack  was  premeditated.     Its  authors 


28o  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

were  not  far  to  seek.  Beauharnais  had  taken  the 
precaution  to  sleep  at  the  scene  of  action  instead 
of  returning  to  Madrid.  Prominent  among  the 
assailants  were  the  servants  of  the  Infante  Antonio, 
who  is  said  to  have  thrown  his  hat  in  the  air  with 
senile  skittishness  on  hearing  that  the  attack  had 
succeeded.  Caballero  was  probably  in  their  counsels. 
Their  instrument  was  an  eccentric  nobleman,  the 
count  of  Montijo,  who  loved  to  fraternise  with  the 
mob  under  the  sobriquet  of  Tio  Pedro,  and  led  them, 
disguised  as  a  peasant,  on  this  occasion. 

By  other  accounts,  the  mine  was  fired  by  Ferdinand, 
who  told  one  of  the  bodyguard  that  the  departure 
was  fixed  for  that  night,  but  that  he  would  not  go. 
The  guardsman  hastened  to  impart  the  news  to  his 
comrades,  who  at  once  raised  the  alarm.  The  story 
that  the  anger  of  the  populace  was  first  enkindled  by 
the  departure  of  Pepita  Tudo  from  Godoy's  house 
is  hardly  credible.  Her  lover  was  at  Aranjuez  merely 
to  pass  the  night,  and  she  is  not  likely  to  have  stayed 
under  the  same  roof  as  his  legal  wife  in  the  very  eye 
of  the  court. 

The  noise  of  the  tumult  had  reached  the  king  and 
queen,  who  had  not  gone  to  bed.  In  an  agony  of 
apprehension,  they  awaited  news  of  the  one  man  on 
whose  loyalty  and  affection  they  could  rely.  If 
the  king  gave  any  orders,  they  were  not  heeded.  The 
ministers  appear  to  have  hidden  themselves.  Before 
the  dawn  the  park  was  once  more  invaded  by  an 
exultant  mob.  They  brought  with  them  the  terrified 
wife  and  daughter  of  their  victim.  "  Death  to  Godoy  I 
long  live  the  king  !  "    was  the  cry. 

Charles  sent  for  his  son  and  told  him  to  show  himself 


Aranjuez  281 

at  the  window  in  order  to  appease  the  people.  Fer- 
dinand replied  that  his  appearance  would  be  the  signal 
for  renewed  firing.  The  people  would  be  satisfied 
only  with  the  instant  dismissal  of  Godoy  ;  that,  too, 
was  the  only  means  of  saving  the  favourite's  life, 
if  he  still  lived.  The  king  was  ready  to  promise 
anything  to  save  his  best  friend.  Ferdinand  then 
consented  to  address  the  people.  He  was  not  recog- 
nised until  a  servant  threw  the  light  of  a  candle  on 
to  his  features.  His  announcement  that  the  king 
had  dismissed  Godoy  was  received  with  frantic  ap- 
plause ;  it  was  confirmed  an  hour  later  by  a  decree 
posted  on  the  door  of  the  palace,  which  ran  :  "  Having 
determined  to  command  my  army  and  navy  in  person, 
I  hereby  relieve  the  Prince  of  the  Peace  of  his  functions 
as  generalissimo  and  high  admiral.  He  is  free  to 
retire  to  any  place  that  may  suit  him. — I,  The  King. 
Aranjuez,  March  18,  1808." 

There  was  more  cheering,  encouraged  by  which 
the  king  and  queen  appeared  on  the  balcony.  They 
were  greeted  with  an  outburst  of  loyal  enthusiasm. 
The  mob,  having  had  their  way,  were  disposed  to  be 
generous.  Cries  of  "  Viva  Napoleon  !  "  were  raised 
when  the  French  ambassador  was  seen  approaching. 
His  excellency  found  the  king  broken  in  spirit.  "  Tell 
the  emperor,"  he  said  wearily,  "  that  I  am  not  going 
to  leave  the  country  unless  it  is  to  visit  him.  Well," 
the  old  man  sighed,  "  Manuel  is  gone.  I  am  sorry. 
He  has  served  me  twenty  years.  I  hope  no  ill  has 
befallen  him." 

While  the  king  was  speaking  the  object  of  his 
solicitude  lay  still  Imprisoned  In  the  attic  of  his  own 
house.     He  had  heard  the  tumult  die  away  and  hoped 


282  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

that  the  servant  who  had  locked  him  in  would  pre- 
sently return  to  set  him  free  or  would  inform  the  king 
of  his  sore  peril.  But  the  servant  had  been  imprisoned 
with  other  members  of  his  household,  and  wisely 
left  the  liberation  of  his  master  to  chance.  The  day 
wore  on,  and  no  one  came.  Godoy  had  had  ample 
time  in  which  to  explore  his  prison.  It  was  fur- 
nished with  a  bed,  a  table,  three  or  four  chairs,  and 
a  box,  in  which  the  captive  found  some  bread  and  a 
jar  of  water.  He  ate  as  little  as  possible,  prepared  to 
endure  a  long  siege. 

At  nightfall  he  heard  footsteps.  They  stopped 
outside  his  door.  "  My  husband  has  got  the  key," 
he  heard  a  woman  say,  "  and  I  can't  find  him — what 
am  I  to  do  ?  "  "  That's  all  right  !  "  came  the 
assurance  in  a  man's  voice,  "  we  will  do  with  this  as 
with  the  others  !  "  The  speaker  hurled  himself  against 
the  door  ;  the  prisoner  had  but  just  time  to  with- 
draw into  a  dark  corner  when  the  lock  gave  way 
and  the  man  entered.  He  gave  a  quick  glance  round 
the  darkened  room,  looked  under  the  bed,  and  went 
out  without  noticing  the  form  flattened  against  the 
wall  in  the  recess.  He  told  the  woman  to  hasten. 
She  came  in  and  hastily  gathered  together  her  belong- 
ings, including  the  jar  of  water.  Godoy  perceived 
that  she  was  one  of  the  under-servants.  Presently, 
lamenting  her  master's  hard  fate,  she  joined  her  com- 
panion on  the  stairs,  and  their  footsteps  died  away. 

Godoy  had  heard  enough  to  satisfy  him  that  his 
overthrow  had  been  completed  and  that  the  king 
himself  was  perhaps  powerless  to  protect  him.  He 
must  seek  another  asylum  unless  he  was  to  perish  in 
hunger   and   thirst.     Before   he   could   resolve   on   a 


Aranjuez  283 

course  of  action,  he  was  overcome  by  sleep.  He 
dreamt,  he  tells  us,  that  Bonaparte  was  dead  and  his 
country  freed  from  all  danger.  He  awoke  to  find  the 
sun  already  high  above  the  horizon.  It  is  strange 
that  he  had  not  attempted  to  escape  by  night  and 
that  he  should  have  selected  broad  daylight  to  emerge 
from  his  retreat.  I  suspect  his  long  fast  and  captivity 
had  made  him  light-headed.  He  crept  down  the 
stairs.  At  the  foot  was  a  sentry — an  artilleryman,  one 
of  the  corps  he  had  always  especially  favoured.  The 
fugitive  laid  his  finger  on  his  lips.  "  Listen,"  he 
whispered,  "  I  shall  not  be  ungrateful.  .  .  ."  The 
soldier's  first  impulse  was  favourable  ;  the  next 
moment,  overcome  by  fear,  he  called  his  comrades. 
They  came  running  up  and  beheld  the  fallen  prince 
with  mixed  expressions.  "  Yes,  it  is  I,"  said  Godoy. 
"  I  will  go  with  you,  but  respect  one  old  enough  to 
be  your  father."  He  begged  an  officer,  who  presently 
appeared,  to  conduct  him  into  the  presence  of  the 
king. 

No  violence  was  offered  him,  and  it  was,  he  believes, 
the  Intention  of  his  captors  to  take  him  to  the  palace. 
Between  an  escort  of  his  old  comrades  of  the  Guardia 
de  Corps,  he  walked  out  of  the  house  that  had  once 
been  his.  Unluckily  a  crowd  of  armed  peasants  and 
townsfolk  were  gathered  about  the  door.  Among 
them  he  distinguished  men  in  the  livery  of  Don 
Antonio.  Upon  seeing  him  they  raised  a  howl  of  rage. 
The  guards  closed  up  to  defend  their  prisoner.  To 
keep  pace  with  them,  he  held  on  to  the  manes  of  the 
horses  on  either  side  of  him,  while  the  riders  gripped 
him  by  the  collar.  In  this  way  escort  and  prisoner 
proceeded  at  the  trot  towards  the  guards'  barracks, 


284  Godoy :   the  Queen's  Favourite 

the  mob  pursuing  them  all  the  way,  striking  at  the 
running  man  with  swords  and  sticks  the  best  they 
were  able,  pelting  him  with  missiles — all  anxious  to 
shed  the  blood  of  him  who  had  not  shed  a  drop  during 
his  twenty  years  of  power.  He  reached  the  barracks 
at  last,  more  dead  than  alive.  His  mouth  and  nostrils 
were  streaming  with  blood,  a  knife  had  gashed  his 
face,  another  his  thigh  ;  a  horse  had  stamped  on  his 
foot.  It  was  as  good  as  a  bull-fight  for^the  generous 
Spanish  people  ! 

Hearing  that  his  friend  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  mob,  the  king,  wild  with  apprehension,  was 
ready  to  rush  in  person  to  his  relief.  He  was  dis- 
suaded, perhaps  out  of  concern  for  his  safety,  by  his 
ministers.  He  then  ordered  his  son  to  go  at  once  to 
the  rescue  of  Godoy  and  bring  him  back  to  the  palace. 
The  prince  walked  over  to  the  barracks,  no  doubt 
relishing  his  mission.  He  met  the  guards  assisting 
their  prisoner  up  the  stairs  of  the  barracks.  Godoy, 
exhausted  and  bleeding,  fell  forward  at  the  prince's 
feet,  probably  in  an  effort  to  salute  him.  Unless 
Ferdinand  young  was,  by  nature,  very  different  from 
Ferdinand  old,  the  sight  of  his  prostrate  rival  must 
have  consoled  him  for  the  humiliations  of  the  Escurial. 
For  a  moment  the  two  regarded  each  other  in  silence. 
"  I  grant  you  your  life,  Manuel,"  at  length  said  his 
royal  highness.  "  Are  you,  then,  king  ?  "  stammered 
the  fainting  man.     "  No,  but  I  soon  shall  be."     '*  And 

their  majesties ?  "     Without  giving  further  heed 

to  the  wretched  prisoner,  the  prince  went  out  on  to 
the  balcony,  and  addressed  the  mob.  "  I  will  answer 
for  this  man,"  he  assured  them ;  "  he  will  be  tried 
and  punished  according  to  the  gravity  of  his  offences." 


MURAT. 


285 


Aranjuc2  287 

"  My  son,"  wrote  Maria  Luisa  to  Murat,  "  gave 
orders  as  if  he  was  king  before  he  was  so  in  fact  and 
before  he  knew  that  he  would  be."  Her  majesty 
misjudged  her  son  ;  he  knew  very  well,  as  he  told 
Godoy,  that  he  would  be  king  very  soon.  He  returned 
from  the  barracks  to  the  palace.  His  parents  were 
distracted  with  grief,  and  disappointed  that  he  had 
not  brought  their  favourite  with  him.  Charles 
ordered  his  chief  surgeon  to  attend  the  wounded 
man  ;  Capdevila,  the  regimental  surgeon  of  the  guards, 
was  at  length  sent  instead.  The  old  king  was  treated 
with  contempt. 

The  ministers  had  slept  in  the  palace  on  the  pre- 
ceding night,  and  were  now  consulting  how  they 
might  most  speedily  effect  a  change  of  masters.  They 
had  not  long  to  wait.  Four  hours  after  Ferdinand's 
return  to  the  palace,  a  travelling  coach  was  observed 
to  take  up  position  before  the  door  of  the  barracks. 
Some  one  said  that  Godoy  was  about  to  be  conveyed 
into  safety  at  Granada.  Determined  that  their  prey 
should  not  escape  them,  the  populace  reassembled, 
threatened  the  barracks,  and  killed  one  of  the  mules 
harnessed  to  the  carriage.  That  the  vehicle  had  been 
deliberately  used  as  a  means  of  exciting  the  crowd 
still  further  can  hardly  be  doubted.  The  prince  flew 
to  the  spot  and  repeated  his  promise  of  the  morning. 
But  now,  with  Godoy,  the  name  of  the  king  was  held 
up  to  execration  and  derision.  Caballero  called 
together  the  commanders  of  the  troops  and  asked  them 
if  their  men  could  be  relied  upon.  They  shrugged 
their  shoulders  and,  as  he  perhaps  expected,  replied 
that  the  prince  alone  could  command  their  loyalty. 
Meantime,  says  Maria  Luisa,  the  king  was  threatened 

17 


288  Godoy :   the  Queen^s  Favourite 

with  another  riot  for  that  evening,  to  be  directed  this 
time  against  his  life.  Ferdinand  promised  to  help 
his  parents,  but  they  would  not  trust  him.  The  king 
and  queen  found  themselves  absolutely  deserted.  The 
friend  and  counsellor  who  had  served  them  so  faith- 
fully during  their  whole  reign  was  now  a  captive,  in 
fear  of  death.  Charles  resolved  to  throw  off  the 
burden  of  government.  Perhaps  threats  were  used 
to  hasten  his  resolution.  He  summoned  his  ministers 
and  officers  and  announced  his  abdication.  It  does 
not  appear  that  any  one  attempted  to  dissuade  him. 
At  half-past  four  in  the  afternoon  the  shouting  and 
clamour  abruptly  ceased  :  every  one  was  reading  the 
notice  fixed  on  the  gates  of  the  palace  and  of  the 
public  buildings.     It  was  thus  worded  : 

"  My  infirmities  no  longer  permitting  me  to  sustain 
the  burden  of  government,  and  requiring,  for  the 
restoration  of  my  health,  the  tranquillity  of  a  private 
life  in  a  more  temperate  climate,  I  have  determined, 
upon  serious  deliberation,  to  abdicate  the  crown  in 
favour  of  my  well-beloved  son,  the  prince  of  Asturias. 
It  is,  therefore,  my  royal  will  that  he  shall  be  acknow- 
ledged and  obeyed  as  king  and  natural  lord  of  all  my 
kingdoms  and  sovereignties.  That  this  royal  decree, 
of  my  free  and  spontaneous  abdication,  may  be  duly 
and  punctually  fulfilled,  you  will  communicate  it  to 
the  council  and  to  all  those  whom  it  may  concern. 
"  To  Don  Pedro  Ceballos. — I,  the  King. 

"  Done  at  Aranjuez, 
''March  17,  1808." 

"  Long  live  King  Ferdinand  VII.  !  "    shouted  the 
people.     The    crowd    streamed    towards    the   palace. 


Aranjuez  289 

The  new  king  appeared  on  the  balcony,  unaccom- 
panied by  any  member  of  his  family.  He  was  deaf- 
ened by  the  cheering.  The  abdication  of  Spain's 
mildest  king  and  the  accession  of  her  worst  threw 
the  nation  into  transports  of  delight.  After  all, 
Ferdinand  had  much  in  common  with  the  majority 
of  his  new  subjects.  He  was  ferocious,  intolerant, 
contemptuous  of  the  forces  that  make  for  civilisation. 
The  true  Spaniards  had  never  cared  for  the  Frenchified 
Bourbons,  his  predecessors,  who  were  always  bothering 
them  with  their  new-fangled  ideas  of  progress,  educa- 
tion, and  industry.  The  mob  like  the  ruler  that 
leaves  them  wallowing  in  the  mire  and  throws  them 
a  coin  now  and  then.  No  pig  likes  to  be  hauled  out 
of  his  sty  into  a  model  dwelling — a  truth  of  which 
the  reactionary  party  in  Western  Europe  is  well 
aware. 

The  news  of  Ferdinand's  accession  and  of  Godoy's 
arrest  was  brought  to  Madrid  at  nightfall.  The 
capital  determined  to  give  a  good  kick  to  the  dog  who 
was  down,  though  he  had  never  bitten  one  of  them. 
Says  Blanco  White  :  "  Night  had  scarcely  come 
on  when  a  furious  mob  invaded  the  house  of  Don 
Diego,  the  favourite's  younger  brother.  The  ample 
space  which  the  magnificent  Calle  de  Alcala  leaves 
at  its  opening  into  the  Prado,  of  which  that  house 
forms  a  corner,  afforded  room  not  only  for  the 
operations  of  the  rioters,  but  for  a  multitude  of 
spectators,  of  whom  I  was  one  myself.  The  house 
having  been  broken  into  and  found  deserted,  the  whole 
of  the  rich  furniture  it  contained  was  thrown  out  of 
the  windows.  Next  came  down  the  very  doors  and 
fixtures  of  all  kinds,  which,  made  into  an  enormous 


290  Godoy:  the  Quecn^s  Favourite 

pile,  with  tables,  bedsteads,  chests  of  drawers,  and 
pianos,  were  soon  in  a  blaze.  Having  enjoyed  this 
costly  and  splendid  bonfire,  the  mob  ranged  them- 
selves in  a  kind  of  procession,  bearing  lint-torches, 
and  directed  their  steps  to  the  house  of  the  Prince 
Branciforte,  Godoy's  brother-in-law. 

*'  The  magistrates,  however,  had  by  this  time  fixed  a 
board  on  the  doors  both  of  that  and  Godoy's  own  house, 
giving  notice  that  the  property  both  of  the  favourite 
and  his  near  relations  had  been  confiscated  by  the 
new  king.  This  was  siifficient  to  turn  away  the  mob 
from  the  remaining  objects  of  their  fury ;  and,  without 
any  further  mischief,  they  were  contented  to  spend 
the  whole  night  in  the  streets,  bearing  about  lighted 
torches  and  drinking  at  the  expense  of  the  wine- 
retailers.  The  riot  did  not  cease  with  the  morning. 
Crowds  of  men  and  women  paraded  the  streets  the 
whole  day,  with  cries  of  '  Long  live  King  Ferdinand  ! 
Death  to  Godoy  ! ' 

"  The  whole  garrison  of  Madrid  were  allured  out 
of  their  barracks  by  bands  of  women  bearing  pitchers 
of  wine  in  their  hands,  and  a  procession  was  seen 
about  the  streets  in  the  afternoon,  where  the  soldiers, 
mixed  with  the  people,  bore  in  their  firelocks  the 
palm-branches  which,  as  a  protection  against  lightning, 
are  commonly  hung  at  the  windows.  Yet  amidst  this 
fearful  disorder  no  insult  was  offered  to  the  many 
individuals  of  the  higher  classes  who  ventured  among 
the  mob.  Nothing,  however,  appeared  to  me  so 
creditable  to  the  populace  of  Madrid  as  their  abstaining 
from  pillage  at  the  house  of  Diego  Godoy — every 
article,  however  valuable,  was  faithfully  committed  to 
the  flames." 


Aranfuez  291 

At  Salamanca  the  demonstrations  were  directed  by 
the  friars,  even  as  they  had  directed  the  movement 
against  Godoy  from  the  first.  At  Sanlucar  de  Bar- 
rameda  the  mob  delightedly  rushed  into  a  botanical 
garden  which  Godoy  had  planted  for  the  acclimatation 
of  rare  and  useful  foreign  plants  and  trampled  the 
beautiful  vegetation  underfoot.  The  first  touch  of 
Ferdinand's  sceptre  had  changed  his  people  into 
swine.  He  had  started  them  at  full  gallop  down  a 
steep  slope,  at  the  foot  of  which  bristled  the  bayonets 
of  France. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

BAYONNE 

The  vanguard  of  the  French  army  was  cresting  the 
Guadarrama  when  Murat  received  the  news  of  the 
downfall  of  Godoy  and  the  abdication  of  Charles  IV. 
Kept  in  ignorance  of  the  ultimate  designs  of  his 
master,  the  imperial  lieutenant  at  once  sped  the 
tidings  to  Paris.  "  I  foresee,"  he  wrote,  "  that  blood 
will  flow,  and  all  Europe  will  not  fail  to  say  that  it 
is  by  France's  order.  I  command  your  armies,  I 
represent  your  majesty,  and  certainly  no  one  will 
believe  that  I  am  at  their  head  without  knowing 
your  projects.  For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  regret 
that  I  do  not  know  how  to  serve  your  majesty  properly 
in  so  critical  a  circumstance." 

In  perplexity  even  the  ablest  diplomatist  may 
take  a  lead  from  his  own  sympathies.  Two  days  later 
— March  21 — the  fiery  Gascon  reached  El  Molar, 
where  a  letter  awaited  him  from  the  ex-queen  of 
Etruria.  She  had  met  him  once  or  twice  at  Florence 
— she  and  Godoy  were  the  only  members  of  the  royal 
household  with  whom  he  had  ever  entertained  any 
personal  relations,  though  these  were  of  the  slightest. 
"  I  am  in  great  danger,"  wrote  the  princess.  "  I  need 
to  speak  with  you  of  things  concerning  the  lives  of 
my  dear  parents.     Come  at  once  to  Aranjuez.      My 

292 


Bayonne  293 

parents,  who  are  about  to  depart,  desire  first  to  speak 
to  you." 

Such  an  appeal  was  never  wasted  on  Murat.  He 
wrote  expressing  his  indignation  at  the  events  of 
Aranjuez,  and  entrusted  the  letter  to  his  aide-de- 
camp, General  de  Monthyon.  The  messenger  rode, 
booted  and  spurred,  the  same  night  into  the  court- 
yard of  the  palace.  The  partisans  of  the  new  king, 
never  supposing  that  a  French  officer  could  be  other 
than  a  friend  to  them,  admitted  him  to  the  presence 
of  Charles  IV.  and  his  wife.  They  hailed  him  as  a 
deliverer.  The  king  declared  that  his  abdication  had 
been  extorted  from  him  in  the  fear  of  death,  he 
denounced  his  unnatural  son,  he  implored  Murat  to 
rescue  Godoy.  The  queen  was  wild  with  anger 
against  Ferdinand,  maddened  by  anxiety  for  her 
favourite.  The  emperor  alone  could  save  Spain — • 
they  implored  him  to  intervene,  and  left  their  fate 
in  his  hands.  A  quiet  retreat  in  which  to  pass  the 
evening  of  their  lives  was  all  they  asked  for  them- 
selves and  for  Godoy. 

Beauharnais  might  salute  the  rising  sun  of  Ferdi- 
nand and  work  blindly  at  strengthening  his  throne  ; 
Murat  at  once  perceived  that  his  generous  sympathy 
had  led  him  into  the  path  of  true  policy  and  that 
France  had  most  to  gain  by  playing  one  king  off 
against  the  other.  If  Charles's  abdication  had  been 
extorted  by  force  it  was  void.  But  he  was  free  to 
sign  another.  In  the  early  morning  of  the  23rd 
Monthyon  reappeared  at  Aranjuez  and  obtained 
from  Charles  a  formal  protest  against  his  enforced 
abdication,  which  he  declared  null  and  void.  This 
document  was  dated  two  days  earlier.     Before  he  had 


294  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

received  it,  Murat,  at  the  gates  of  Madrid,  was 
notified  by  the  duke  del  Parque  of  the  accession  of 
Ferdinand  VII.  He  received  the  envoy  with  studied 
courtesy,  but  was  careful  not  to  acknowledge  the 
sovereignty  of  the  prince  he  represented. 

The  next  morning  (March  23)  the  French  army, 
forty  thousand  strong,  marched  into  Madrid.  Murat,  a 
fine,  martial  figure,  captivated  the  Spanish  imagination 
more  readily  than  the  boyish,  travel-stained  infantry  of 
Moncey.  The  invaders  were  welcomed  as  the  allies 
of  the  new  king  ;  yet  Murat  had  to  complain  of  the 
quarters  assigned  to  him  in  the  dismantled  apartments 
of  Pepita  Tudo,  and  was  finally  lodged  in  the  palace 
of  the  Admiralty,  once  tenanted  by  Godoy  himself. 

Twenty-four  hours  after  Ferdinand  made  his 
entry  into  his  capital.  He  was  greeted  with  an  en- 
thusiasm which  may  have  consoled  him  for  the  want 
of  pomp  and  ceremony  customary  on  such  occasions, 
but  not  for  the  complete  disregard  of  the  imperial 
lieutenant.  Occupied  in  reviewing  his  troops,  Murat 
ignored  the  arrival  of  the  new  king,  and  blamed  Beauhar- 
nais  for  having  permitted  him  to  leave  Aranjuez.  For 
the  old  king  and  queen  he  showed  almost  filial  concern, 
offering  them,  if  needs  were,  an  asylum  in  the  midst 
of  his  army,  sending  a  brigade  under  General  Vathier 
to  protect  them  from  all  molestation.  Ferdinand 
was  puzzled  and  uneasy.  Helped  on  to  the  throne 
by  the  French  ambassador,  he  was  now  refused  recog- 
nition by  the  emperor's  brother-in-law  and  lieutenant. 
Beauharnais,  repenting  his  former  partnership,  had 
the  effrontery  to  censure  him  for  having  put  on  his 
father's  crown  too  hastily.  "  I  was  forced  to  do  so 
by  the  circumstances,"  was  the  meek  reply. 


Bayonnc  295 

Meanwhile,  negotiations  were  openly  proceeding 
between  the  queen  of  Etruria  and  the  French  com- 
mander. The  new  sovereign  took  counsel  with  all 
his  old  associates  hurriedly  recalled  from  exile — with 
Escoiquiz,  Infantado,  San  Carlos,  and  Ceballos  (eager 
to  wash  out  the  stain  of  his  connection  with  Godoy). 
Their  confidence  in  the  French  remained  unabated. 
The  sword  of  Francis  I.,  taken  at  Pavia,  was  solemnly 
presented  to  Murat.  He  received  it  with  more 
gratitude  than  his  master  afterwards  expressed,  but 
he  regretted  that  he  could  not  acknowledge  the 
courtesy  of  the  prince  of  Asturias  by  a  visit.  He 
could  not  recognise  him  as  king  without  orders  from 
the  emperor  ;  but  his  imperial  majesty  was  on  his 
way  to  Madrid,  to  settle  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom 
on  a  permanent  basis.  His  royal  highness  would  be 
wise  to  go  to  meet  him,  if  it  were  only  within  a  few 
leagues  of  his  destination.  Recognition  would  be  sure 
to  follow. 

Ferdinand's  hesitation  was  put  an  end  to  by 
Savary,  the  duke  of  Rovigo,  who  appeared  suddenly 
on  April  7  as  the  forerunner  of  the  emperor.  The 
newly  made  king  now  burned  to  throw  himself  at  the 
great  man's  feet.  Three  days  later  he  was  on  his 
way  to  meet  Napoleon,  accompanied  by  his  chosen 
admirers,  all  of  whom  believed  confidently  that  recog- 
nition could  be  bought,  at  the  worst,  with  the  cession 
of  Navarre  or  the  other  frontier  provinces — a  price 
which  these  patriots,  apparently,  were  not  unwilling 
to  pay.  In  the  king's  absence  the  government  was 
to  be  carried  on  by  a  junta  presided  over  by  that 
respectable  nonentity,  the  Infante  Antonio. 

Murat  was  now  aware  that  his  master  destined  the 


296  Godoy :   the  Queen's  Favourite 

crown  of  Spain  for  a  French  prince — ^perhaps,  he 
hoped,  for  him.  It  was  his  task  to  sweep  all  the  royal 
family  into  the  net  spread  for  them.  Ferdinand 
having  gone,  he  turned  his  attention  to  his  parents. 
They  would  remain  as  hostages  in  his  hands  till  the 
prince  was  on  French  soil.  By  Napoleon's  order,  he 
moved  the  elderly  couple  from  Aranjuez  to  the 
Escurial,  where  they  remained,  dull  and  lonely,  under 
the  protection  of  general  Mouton's  division.  They 
welcomed  the  imperial  lieutenant,  when  he  visited 
them,  with  delight.  They  were  eager  to  leave  the 
ungrateful  Spaniards,  and  were  in  haste  to  meet 
Napoleon  before  his  ear  should  have  been  gained  by 
their  perfidious  son.  They  would  have  started  at 
once,  had  Murat  permitted  them,  but  for  their 
anxiety  for  the  Prince  of  the  Peace,  which  tortured 
them  night  and  day. 

Murat,  not  unmindful  of  the  regard  Godoy  had 
often  expressed  for  him,  had  resolved  from  the  first 
at  the  least  to  save  his  life.  Hearing,  the  day 
before  he  entered  Madrid,  that  it  was  intended  to 
conduct  the  prisoner  through  the  streets  in  order  to 
expose  him  to  the  fury  of  the  populace,  he  at  once 
wrote  to  the  captain-general,  Negrete,  sternly  for- 
bidding the  outrage  he  meditated  and  warning  him 
that  he  would  hold  him  personally  responsible  in  case 
of  disobedience.  The  Spaniards  sullenly  gave  way. 
Napoleon  expressed  his  indignation,  even  more  warmly 
than  his  lieutenant,  at  the  barbarous  treatment  of  the 
man  who  had  so  often  checkmated  him,  and  ordered 
Murat  to  deliver  him  from  the  hands  of  his  would-be 
assassins. 

Murat's    generous    instincts    prompted    immediate 


Bayonne  297 

compliance,  but  he  perceived  the  wisdom  of  delay. 
"  To  deliver  the  prince  would  be  easy,"  he  wrote  to 
the  emperor,  "  but  I  have  to  consider  the  effect. 
This  is  a  man  who  has  been  deliberately  held  up  to 
the  odium  of  the  nation,  and  it  is  only  by  blackening 
his  character  and  by  promising  his  execution  that  the 
party  which  has  overthrown  him  seeks  to  extend  its 
power."  To  rescue  Godoy  by  main  force  would,  in 
short,  exasperate  the  Spaniards  to  a  dangerous  degree 
and  would  for  ever  embitter  ihem  against  the  French. 

For  the  moment  Murat  contented  himself  with 
intimating  the  emperor's  interest  in  the  prisoner  and 
his  will  that  his  pretended  arraignment  should  not 
be  proceeded  with.  Beauharnais,  ironically  enough, 
was  ordered  to  convey  this  message  to  Ferdinand. 
He  did  so  with  ill-concealed  reluctance,  and  returned 
to  announce  sulkily  that  the  new  king  would  respect 
the  emperor's  wishes.  It  was  time,  according  to 
Murat,  for  the  queen  of  Etruria  told  him  that  the 
captive  had  already  been  subjected  to  interro- 
gatories by  a  magistrate  and  had  been  loaded  with 
chains. 

Godoy,  not  knowing  that  he  had  been  saved  by 
Murat  from  the  clutches  of  the  Madrid  populace, 
had  been  transported  on  March  23  from  Aranjuez 
to  Pinto,  a  village  a  few  miles  south  of  the  capital, 
and  thence  to  the  castle  of  Villaviciosa,  where  he  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  marquis  of  Castclar,  a  man 
once  his  friend  but  now  eager  to  show  himself  his 
enemy.  The  fallen  minister  was  guarded  night  and 
day  by  three  of  the  Guardia  de  Corps,  who  never  let 
him  out  of  their  sight  for  an  instant.  At  Aranjuez 
he   owed    much   to   the    kindness    of   Lieutenant    de 


298  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

Villena,  an  officer  to  whom  he  had  been  of  service  in 
the  past ;  and  to  him  and  to  the  grenadiers  of  Castile 
he  attributes  his  escape  from  assassination  at  the  hands 
of  the  people  on  his  mournful  passage  through  the 
streets  of  the  royal  residence. 

At  Villaviciosa  he  rejoiced  to  find  himself  lodged 
in  a  pleasant,  airy  apartment  overlooking  the  moat. 
Here  he  was  even  able  to  overhear  the  talk  of  the 
guards  at  the  main  entrance,  and  was  interested  by 
the  endeavours  of  some  women  of  the  neighbourhood 
to  induce  his  gaolers  to  assassinate  him  on  the  grounds, 
among  others,  that  he  had  intended  to  introduce  the 
religion  of  Islam  into  Spain.  He  was  presently  moved, 
to  his  great  disgust,  into  the  oratory  of  the  castle, 
a  dark,  damp  chamber  like  a  sepulchre.  He  was 
treated  with  inhuman  severity.  Not  a  book  was 
allowed  him,  nor  a  change  of  linen,  though  his  own 
was  saturated  with  blood  from  his  one-and-twenty 
wounds.  The  altar  still  remained  in  the  chapel,  but 
he  was  not  allowed  the  consolation  of  assisting  at 
mass  or  receiving  the  sacrament  at  Easter,  as  every 
Catholic  is  bound  to  do  under  pain  of  sin. 

He  does  not  speak  of  any  judicial  examination  or 
of  being  fettered.  The  queen  of  Etruria  may  have 
been  misinformed,  or  else  have  made  false  represen- 
tations to  Murat  in  order  to  stimulate  him  to  fresh 
activity  on  the  prisoner's  behalf.  Charles  and  Maria 
Luisa  daily  besieged  the  imperial  lieutenant  with 
entreaties  for  his  immediate  relief.  San  Miguel,  one 
of  the  fallen  minister's  under-secretaries,  was  among 
the  few  who  dared  to  show  their  fidelity  to  him 
in  misfortune.  He  unceasingly  urged  the  French 
general  to  interfere,  alleging  that  his  master  was  in 


Bayonne  299 

danger  of  assassination.  Possibly  this  loyal  servant 
was  the  author  of  an  anonymous  letter  addressed  to 
her  majesty  and  supposed  to  come  from  one  of  the 
prisoner's  guards.  "  Madame,"  it  ran,  "  a  faithful 
vassal,  who  remembers  past  benefits,  warns  you  that, 
if  the  French  attack  Villaviciosa,  the  governor  has 
orders  to  kill  his  prisoner.  Let  Murat  invite  the 
chiefs  from  the  palace  to  his  house  and  hold  them  as 
hostages." 

Probably  at  Murat's  suggestion,  Savary  at  last  ex- 
torted from  Ferdinand  (who  was  now  as  far  north 
as  Vittoria)  an  order  to  the  Junta  to  deliver  Godoy 
to  the  custody  of  his  imperial  majesty  "  on  the 
understanding  that  the  ordinary  processes  of  law 
should  not  be  interfered  with."  Murat  smiled  at  the 
proviso,  intended  to  legalise  the  forcible  seizure  of 
the  prisoner's  property,  and  presented  the  order  to 
the  Junta.  The  members  of  that  body  were  ex- 
tremely loath  to  obey ;  the  revolution  must  have 
seemed  to  them  to  have  been  hardly  worth  the  making 
if  they  were  not  to  be  glutted  with  the  blood  of  the 
man  of  whom  they  had  stood  so  long  in  awe.  But 
the  signature  of  the  king,  countersigned  (let  us  hope, 
gladly)  by  Ceballos  was  not  to  be  disputed.  The 
order  for  Godoy's  liberation  was  issued.  Comman- 
dant Rosetti  was  sent  to  apprise  their  majesties  at 
the  Escurial  of  the  good  news.  Charles  wept  and 
declared  that  he  would  not  have  been  able  to  live 
much  longer  without  Manuel.  The  queen  broke  into 
smiles  and  gave  the  commandant  a  handsome  repeat- 
ing watch  "  in  memory  of  the  queen  of  Spain."  She 
also  begged  him  to  hand  the  captive  a  short  message 
and  to  obtain  for  her  speech  of  him  as  soon  as  possible. 


300  Godoy:  the  Queen's  Favourite 

That  night — April  20 — General  Exelmans,  accom- 
panied by  Rosetti  and  a  squadron  of  chasseurs  of  the 
guard,  rode  out  of  Madrid  on  their  errand  of  mercy. 
The  general  left  the  squadron  at  a  short  distance  from 
the  castle,  and  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  waited 
upon  the  commandant.  Castelar,  on  learning  their 
mission,  was  beside  himself  with  anger  and  appre- 
hension. He  vowed  that  this  was  a  snare  to  ruin  him, 
and  was  with  difficulty  reassured  by  the  explicit 
terms  of  the  Junta's  order.  "  It  is  certain,"  he  ad- 
mitted with  a  sigh,  "  that  such  an  order  would  not 
have  been  issued  except  by  command  of  the  king." 

By  another  account,  the  quarrel  became  so  violent 
that  the  French  officers  demanded  personal  satis- 
faction. Castelar  at  length  conducted  them  into  a 
low-ceiled  chamber  adjoining  Godoy's  prison.  He 
entered,  leaving  them  outside  the  door.  A  few 
minutes  later  he  reappeared  and  asked  for  a  written 
receipt  for  the  body  of  the  captive.  This  was  given 
to  him,  and  without  a  word  he  threw  open  the  door 
and  pointed  to  Godoy,  who  stood  within. 

The  prisoner,  says  Rosetti,  impressed  him  by  his  fine 
proportions,  but  his  appearance  otherwise  was  pitiable. 
He  had  an  old  cloak  over  his  shoulders  and  slippers 
on  his  feet.  His  linen  was  filthy  ;  he  was  in  the  same 
blood-stained  rags  that  he  had  worn  on  the  dreadful 
day  of  Aranjuez ;  his  beard  was  six  inches  long.  He 
gazed  bewildered  at  his  new  captors.  Exelmans 
explained  briefly  that  they  were  aides-de-camp  of 
the  grand-duke  of  Berg  and  that  he  must  accompany 
them.  The  three  men  slipped  out  of  a  postern-gate 
into  the  darkness  and  stumbled  across  a  ploughed 
field    to    a    carriage   which   was   in   waiting.      There 


Bayonne  301 

seems  to  have  been  no  conversation  between  the 
officers  and  their  charge.  The  chasseurs  closed  round 
the  carriage  and  they  set  off  at  a  brisk  trot  for  the 
camp  of  Chamartin. 

Rosetti  says  that  Godoy  crouched  at  the  foot  of 
the  vehicle  to  escape  the  possible  notice  of  some 
peasants  who  were  passing.  The  commandant  laughs 
at  him  for  this,  but  few  men's  nerves  would  be  at 
their  command  after  so  terrible  an  experience  as  that 
of  Aranjuez,  followed  by  a  severe  imprisonment ;  and 
a  hostile  demonstration,  though  without  danger  to  him 
of  actual  violence,  was  an  ordeal  which  the  wretched 
man  may  well  be  pardoned  for  shirking. 

He  was  accommodated  in  a  mere  hut  in  the  centre 
of  the  camp,  surrounded  by  the  soldiers  of  Napoleon. 
His  first  inquiry  was,  who  was  reigning  ?  Some 
answered  Charles  IV.,  others  Ferdinand  VH.,  others, 
prophetically,  Napoleon.  Presently  the  faithful  San 
Miguel  arrived,  bringing  with  him  a  thrice-welcome 
change  of  clothes.  He  was  also  able  to  present  his 
old  master  with  a  sum  of  one  thousand  pounds,  pro- 
bably remitted  by  some  banker  or  creditor  ignorant 
of  the  order  confiscating  his  property. 

From  San  Miguel  the  liberated  man  heard  of  the 
departure  of  Ferdinand  for  the  north,  and  a  chronicle 
of  the  happenings  since  the  fatal  day.  He  saw 
Murat  at  a  distance,  and  shortly  after  the  message  of 
Charles  IV.  was  handed  to  him.  "  Incomparable 
Manuel,"  cried  the  old  king,  "  how  we  have  suffered 
at  seeing  you  sacrificed  for  having  been  our  only 
friend  !  To-morrow  we  start  to  meet  the  emperor, 
and  we  will  intercede  for  you,  so  that  we  may  live 
happily  together.     Always  your  friend. — Carlos."     It 


302  Godoy :   the  Queen's  Favourite 

was  a  letter  which  might  well  have  drawn  tears  to 
the  reader's  eyes.  A  few  hours  after  receiving  it, 
he  was  on  his  way  to  Bayonne  under  the  escort  of 
Colonel  Manhes.  On  April  26  he  crossed  the 
Bidassoa,  and,  turning,  fixed  his  eyes  for  the  last  time 
on  the  country  of  his  birth. 

He  was  free,  and  the  prince  who  had  ruined  him 
was  a  captive.  Godoy  had  been  overthrown  because 
he  had  striven  to  put  the  royal  family  beyond  the 
reach  of  Napoleon ;  Ferdinand  had  thwarted  him, 
and  was  now  at  the  mercy  of  the  despot  in  whom  he 
had  professed  to  see  a  friend.  Within  twenty-four 
hours  of  his  arrival  at  Bayonne  his  royal  highness 
was  informed  that  the  emperor  could  recognise  him 
only  as  prince  of  Asturias ;  that  Charles  IV.  was  alone 
king  of  Spain.  "  I  am  betrayed  !  "  cried  the  prince 
in  his  despair.  He  was  indeed  :  he  found  that  he 
could  not  stir  from  the  house  assigned  to  him  unless 
he  was  dogged  by  gendarmes.  To  Escoiquiz  and 
Ceballos,  those  trusty  councillors  who  had  despised 
the  statesmanship  of  Godoy,  Napoleon  made  no  secret 
of  his  intention  to  expel  the  house  of  Bourbon  from 
the  throne.  Meantime  he  would  await  the  coming 
of  his  good  ally,   Charles  IV. 

Godoy  arrived  five  days  before  his  old  patron,  a 
week  after  Ferdinand.  He  was  lodged  in  a  house 
adjacent  to  the  emperor's  seat  of  Marrac  on  the  road 
to  Biarritz.  The  day  after  his  arrival,  he  was  sent 
for  by  the  man  from  whom  he  had  tried  to  save 
Spain.  He  was  kindly  and  courteously  received.  Na- 
poleon, who  thought  he  looked  "  like  a  bull,  with 
something  of  the  air  of  Daru,"  expressed  his  indig- 
nation at  his  treatment  by  the  Spaniards  and  inquired 


CHARLES    IV.    OF    SPAIN. 

(Goya) 


303 


Bayonne  305 

about  his  wounds.  Godoy's  face  was  still  disfigured  by 
a  scar.  After  these  courtesies  the  monarch  referred  to 
their  past  relations,  and  regretted  that  the  ex-minister 
had  so  often  misjudged  him.  He  had  meant  to  do 
so  much  for  Spain — even  at  the  last  he  had  offered 
her  the  six  provinces  of  Portugal  against  three  petty 
provinces  along  the  Ebro.  Well,  he  did  not  reproach 
Godoy,  who,  he  believed,  had  acted  towards  his  master 
as  he  would  have  his  own  servants  act  towards  him. 

From  the  past  the  emperor  abruptly  turned  the 
conversation  to  the  present.  He  told  Godoy  that 
he  held  Charles's  protest  against  his  abdication  and 
that  he  was  determined  that  Ferdinand  should  never 
reign  in  Spain.  A  prince  who  had  intrigued  and  re- 
belled against  his  father  ! — never,  never  !  He  would 
restore  Charles  IV.  He  presumed  that  Godoy 
had  no  fondness  for  the  people  who  had  caused  his 
downfall.  He  promised  him  retribution.  "  As  to 
that,"  replied  the  fallen  man  wearily,  "  my  career  is 
for  ever  at  an  end.  I  am  interested  now  only  in  the 
fate  of  my  king  and  my  country."  He  held,  like  the 
emperor,  that  the  old  king's  resignation,  if  extorted 
by  force,  must  be  considered  void,  but  hazarded  the 
suggestion  that  the  regency  of  Ferdinand  might  be 
the  most  acceptable  solution  of  the  present  problem. 
Napoleon  reiterated  his  determination  never  to  suffer 
that  rebellious  son  to  reign. 

Finding  that  Godoy  was  not  prepared  to  sacrifice 
his  country  either  to  his  ambition  or  to  his  just  re- 
sentment, he  dismissed  him.  "  They  were  a  wretched 
lot,"  he  said,  speaking  of  the  Spanish  court,  "  but 
Godoy  was  the  best  man  among  them.  His  project 
of  removing  the  royal  family  beyond  the  seas  was 
18 


3o6  Godoy  :   the  Queen^s  Favourite 

at  least  a  sound  conception."  Years  afterwards,  at 
St.  Helena,  he  paid  his  wary  antagonist  a  less  grudging 
tribute.     "  He  was  a  man  of  genius,"  he  said. 

The  old  king  and  queen,  on  their  arrival,  were 
received  with  full  royal  honours.  Bausset,  Savary, 
Meneval,  and  Constant  have  left  us  minute  accounts 
of  their  meeting  with  the  emperor  and  of  the  momen- 
tous events  that  followed — the  events  which  Godoy 
had  so  clearly  foreseen  and  of  which  he  could  now 
be  only  the  melancholy  spectator.  Yet  the  cordiality 
of  the  emperor  towards  his  guests  might  well  have 
persuaded  him  that  the  restoration  of  Charles  IV. 
was  a  fixed  point  in  the  imperial  policy.  "  Lean  on 
me,  I  am  strong,"  said  Napoleon  to  the  old  Bourbon, 
assisting  him  up  the  palace  stairs.  And  Charles,  dis- 
gusted with  his  son  and  his  people,  had  no  other 
desire.  "  Where  is  Manuel  ?  "  was  his  first  inquiry 
when  he  took  his  seat  at  the  banquet  prepared  for 
him.  Napoleon  invited  Godoy  to  join  them.  If 
the  king  now  saw  the  favourite  for  the  first  time 
since  Aranjuez,  the  meeting  must  have  stirred  the 
deepest  emotions  of  both. 

"  Had  I  been  made  aware  by  the  princess  party, 
upon  my  arrival,  of  the  emperor's  proposals  and  inten- 
tions," writes  Godoy,  "  a  common  plan  of  resistance 
might  have  been  concerted.  But  I  was  approached 
only  by  the  duke  of  Frias,  whose  visit  was  merely  one 
of  courtesy  and  who  did  not  refer  by  so  much  as  a 
word  to  the  political  situation."  It  is  possible  that 
Ferdinand's  hatred  may  have  consummated,  as  it 
began,  his  own  ruin  ;  but  it  is  unlikely  that  even  his 
favourite's  arguments  could  have  prevailed  with 
Charles  IV.  against  the  will  of  the  emperor.     In  his 


Bayonne  307 

imperial  majesty  the  old  king  saw  his  best  friend 
and  support.  He  executed  his  behests  hurriedly, 
delightedly. 

Ferdinand  wrote  offering  to  restore  the  crown, 
provided  that  the  act  of  restitution  should  be  done 
in  Spain  with  the  consent  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
Cortes.  **  My  son,"  replied  Charles,  "  Spain  owes 
her  critical  situation  to  the  perfidious  counsellors  who 
surround  you ;  she  can  be  saved  only  by  Napoleon." 
Ferdinand  offered  to  assume  the  regency  ;  his  father 
replied  by  a  decree  appointing  the  grand-duke  of 
Berg  lieutenant-general  of  his  dominions.  Escoiquiz, 
less  tenacious  of  the  prince's  rights  than  Godoy, 
advised  him  to  yield  to  the  emperor's  will. 

In  the  afternoon  of  May  5  an  orderly  galloped 
furiously  into  the  courtyard  of  Marrac.  A  few 
minutes  later  Napoleon  learned  that  the  people  of 
Madrid  had  risen  in  mad  revolt  against  the  invaders 
whom  they  had  persisted,  but  a  month  before,  in  hailing 
as  deliverers.  The  supposed  allies  of  Ferdinand  had 
proved  sterner  taskmasters  than  the  odious  Godoy. 
Spain's  eyes  were  at  last  opened ;  too  late  was  she  able 
to  distinguish  friend  from  foe.  Furious,  the  emperor 
rushed  in  upon  the  startled  king  and  queen.  The 
streets  of  Madrid  had  been  deluged  in  the  blood  of 
French  soldiers  and  Spanish  citizens — this  was  the 
upshot  of  the  devilish  intrigues  of  their  son  with  the 
accursed  English.  A  river  of  blood  flowed  for  ever 
between  Ferdinand  and  the  throne  of  Spain. 

The  prince  was  summoned.  Terrified,  he  denied 
all  complicity  in  the  rising  of  May  2.  "  The  blood 
of  my  people  is  on  your  head  1  "  cried  the  old  king, 
"  and  that  of  the  soldiers  of  Napoleon."     He  threat- 


3o8  Godoy:  the  Qucen^s  Favourite 

ened  his  son  with  his  cane  ;  Maria  Luisa  launched 
at  her  first-born  the  bitterest  imprecations.  "  Listen," 
thundered  Napoleon,  cutting  short  these  recrimina- 
tions. **  If  you  have  not  recognised  your  father  by 
midnight  as  lawful  king  of  Spain  and  have  not  notified 
this  to  Madrid,  you  will  be  treated  as  a  rebel  I  " 
Ferdinand,  trembling,  withdrew. 

Godoy,  sent  for,  found  his  master  quivering  with 
indignation  and  wrath.  *'  This,"  cried  the  old  king, 
*'  is  the  reward  of  twenty  years*  devotion  to  my 
people  !  Was  I  a  Nero,  a  Caligula  ?  Have  I  not 
refused  again  and  again  to  shed  a  drop  of  my  people's 
blood  ?  Have  I  not  humiliated  myself  to  avert  from 
them  the  scourge  of  war  ?  Have  I  not  cared  for  them, 
as  a  father  for  his  children  ?  And  now  my  son 
conspires  against  me,  my  people  hurl  me  from  the 
throne  with  cries  of  delight.  And  now  war  is  raging 
in  their  midst.  I  resign.  My  abdication  Is  in  the 
hands  of  the  emperor  !  " 

*'  But,  sire,"  protested  Godoy,  "  think  what  you 
are  doing.  .  .  .  To  abdicate  the  throne  of  your  ances- 
tors !     Surely  the  proposal  was  not  made  by  you  ?  " 

"  By  me  ?  No.  The  emperor  has  offered  to 
restore  me  to  my  throne  by  force  of  arms.  He  is 
ready  to  march  an  army  on  Madrid.  I  refused  to 
trample  on  the  bodies  of  my  subjects.  *  Very  well,* 
he  said,  *  since  you  will  not  reign,  your  son  never 
shall.*  It  is  finished.  Let  the  emperor  take  the 
crown.  Perhaps  the  Spaniards  will  be  happier  under 
him  than  under  me.  You,  as  my  only  faithful  servant, 
I  charge  with  the  execution  of  the  treaty." 

"  Never  !  "  answered  the  unhappy  favourite.  "  Think 
again.  ..." 


Bayonne  309 

"  Then  you,  too,  desert  me  !  Good.  ...  I  will 
attend  to  this  myself !  " 

In  vain  Maria  Luisa  joined  her  entreaties  to 
Godoy's.  The  weary  old  man  was  in  haste  to  be 
rid  of  his  crown  of  thorns.  Who  can  blame  him  ? 
His  people  had  clamoured  for  the  intervention  of 
France,  they  had  cast  him  down  because  he  was  pre- 
pared to  resist  the  invader.  While  they  disputed — 
king, queen,  and  ex-minister — Duroc  brought  the  drafts 
of  the  treaty  for  signature.  Godoy,  upon  his  master's 
reiterated  commands,  turned  with  a  heavy  heart  to  the 
discussion  of  the  conditions.  Charles  ceded  the  crown 
of  his  ancestors  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  stipulating 
that  the  integrity  of  Spain  and  the  Catholic  religion 
should  be  maintained.  In  exchange,  the  emperor 
guaranteed  to  the  ex-king  seven  and  a  half  millions 
of  francs  a  year,  the  use  of  the  chateau  of  Chambord, 
and  four  hundred  thousand  francs  a  year  to  each  of  the 
infantes.  Napoleon  had  bought  the  inheritance  of 
Philip  II.  cheaply  enough.  On  May  10  Ferdinand  and 
the  other  princes,  sent  by  Murat  in  haste  from  Madrid, 
renounced  all  rights  of  succession  to  the  crown  of  Spain. 

They  moved  more  freely  now  that  they  were 
relieved  of  the  burden  they  were  so  unfit  to  bear. 
They  went  frequently  to  pay  their  respects  to  the 
empress  and  were  visibly  gratified  by  the  royal 
honours  extended  to  them.  It  was  not  easy  to  forget, 
says  the  Comte  de  Senfft,  their  grand  manner  in  con- 
trast with  the  horror  of  their  position,  which  they 
did  not  seem  to  realise.  *'  King  Charles  IV.,  with  the 
queen  and  their  inseparable  Don  Manuel  Godoy, 
went  seldom  to  Marrac  and  only  at  the  emperor's 
luncheon,  of  which  the  king  made  his  dinner," 


310  Godoyt  the  Queen's  Favourite 

In  after-years  Godoy  perhaps  remembered  only 
the  anguish  with  which  he  found  himself  obliged  to 
witness  the  deed  assigning  the  crown  of  Spain  to  a 
foreigner.  That  he  did  so  with  mingled  sentiments 
may  also  be  believed.  His  body  was  still  scarred  with 
the  wounds  he  had  received  from  the  people  who 
resented  his  efforts  to  save  them  from  this  very  doom. 
Spain  had  cast  him  out  with  loathing  and  blows ; 
she  had  herself  thwarted  all  his  endeavours  on  her 
behalf  for  the  sake  of  the  prince  who  now  abandoned 
her.  It  is  to  his  credit  that  he  troubled  to  protest 
at  all  against  the  abdication  of  Charles  IV.  That  he 
refused  actively  to  further  the  enemy's  designs  is 
proved  by  Napoleon's  dismissal  of  him  as  "  useless  as 
an  ally  and  negligible  as  an  opponent." 

Yet  during  the  five  days  preceding  the  old  king's 
coming  to  Bayonne,  before  Napoleon  had  realised 
the  extent  of  the  old  man's  weakness,  the  favourite 
might  have  sold  his  influence  at  a  very  high  price  ! 
A  principality  the  emperor  might  readily  have  granted 
for  the  support  of  the  man  who  was  said  to  have  ruled 
Charles  IV.  and  Maria  Luisa  for  a  score  of  years  past. 
Godoy,  beggared,  cast  out,  and  dishonoured,  asked 
nothing,  got  nothing.  Spain  had  rejected  him — he 
could  not  help  her,  he  would  not  profit  by  her  ruin. 
For  good  or  ill  he  was  Charles's  man,  and  his  last  act 
was  to  take  upon  himself  some  of  the  obloquy  of  a 
surrender  which  he  had  opposed. 

The  men  who  had  overthrown  him  were  of  another 
sort.  The  prince's  partisans  stayed  at  Bayonne  to 
greet  the  new  king,  Joseph.  Ceballos,  the  time-server, 
took  office  under  him  ;  so  did  the  "  patriots  "  Jovellanos 
and  Urquijo ;    O'Farrell,  who  had  opposed  Godoy's 


Bayonne  311 

liberation,  accepted  the  portfolio  of  war.  The  duke 
of  Infantado  was  among  the  deputation  of  grandees 
chosen  to  greet  King  Joseph.  And  these  were  the  men 
who  had  denounced  Godoy  as  a  traitor  to  his  country ! 
They  tried  to  make  amends,  it  is  true,  by  betraying 
their  new  master  as  they  had  betrayed  the  old. 

They  had  a  worthy  master  in  Ferdinand  VII. 
On  May  13  he  and  his  brother  Carlos  departed 
for  the  home  assigned  to  them  at  Valengay,  in  the 
heart  of  France.  There,  while  his  countrymen  were 
pouring  out  their  blood  in  defence  of  his  rights, 
he  stooped  to  beg  his  conqueror  to  grant  him  the 
hand  of  a  princess  of  his  house — an  act  so  mean  that 
Napoleon  refused  to  publish  it,  since  it  would  not  be 
believed.  He  returned  at  last  to  the  throne  that 
English  bayonets  rather  than  Spanish  loyalty  had 
won  for  him,  and  speedily  reduced  his  country  to 
a  state  in  comparison  with  which  the  worst  days  of 
Godoy  must  have  been  remembered  as  the  Golden 
Age.  Verily,  the  Spaniards  of  Aranjuez  and  Bayonne 
got  the  monarch  they  deserved. 

More  fortunate  than  his  life-long  enemy,  Godoy 
passed  out  of  history,  following  his  old  master  and 
mistress  into  exile.  He  owed  to  them  his  exaltation, 
he  was  true  to  them  in  their  abasement.  He  sought 
no  office  under  the  Bonaparte  king,  he  craved  no 
favour  of  Napoleon.  His  coat  had  been  bespattered 
with  blood  and  mud  in  Charles's  service,  but  at 
forty  years  of  age  he  thought  himself  too  old  to 
change  it.  Besides,  he  had  drunk  to  the  full  of  the 
cup  of  greatness,  for  a  mere  sip  of  which  Ceballos 
and  Ferdinand  sold  their  honour. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

THE   LAST   LONG   SCENE 

From  the  fierce  light  that  beats  upon  a  throne  the 
erstwhile  grand  admiral  and  generalissimo  of  Spain 
passed  into  a  shadow  which  the  searchlight  of  history- 
has  not  yet  altogether  dispelled.^  Godoy  survived 
his  fall  forty-four  years — more  than  thrice  the  duration 
of  his  political  career.  He  outlived  friends  and  foes, 
he  outlived  even  men's  memory  of  him.  When  he 
died  the  sons  and  grandsons  of  those  who  had  courted 
his  smile  or  conspired  his  downfall  asked,  in  wonder, 
"  Was  he,  then,  still  among  the  living  ?  " 

Yet  this  profound  obscurity  was  sweetened  for 
many  years  by  the  warmth  of  loving  hearts  and  con- 
stancy in  old  friendships.  Fitfully,  too,  it  was 
penetrated  by  gleams  of  the  old  rancours.  On 
June  1 8,  after  a  brief  stay  at  Fontainebleau,  Charles 
IV.  and  his  queen  arrived  in  an  old  equipage  drawn 
by  mules  at  the  noble  palace  of  Compiegne.  Their 
train  was  numerous.  With  them  was  the  queen  of 
Etruria  and  her  little  son,  afterwards  duke  of  Parma, 
and  the  Infante  Francisco  de  Paula,  a  boy  of  fourteen 
years,  the  youngest  of  Charles's  children  ;  with  them, 
too,  were  Godoy  and  all  those  whom  Godoy  loved. 

1  For  our  knowledge  of  Godoy's  domestic  life  from  this  point 
onwards  we  are  indebted  almost  exclusively  to  the  researches  of  Senor 
Juan  Perez  de  Guzman  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  History  of  Madrid. 

312 


The  Last  Long  Scene  313 

The  wife  who  hated  him  had  stayed  among  his 
enemies.  She  passed  the  rest  of  her  days  in  the 
shadow  of  the  cathedral  of  Toledo,  under  the  protec- 
tion of  her  brother,  the  cardinal.  The  daughter, 
Carlota,  whom  she  disliked  because  she  was  Godoy's 
child,  was  brought  to  the  Escurial  by  her  father's 
kinsman,  Villena.  Maria  Luisa  embraced  her  god- 
child. "  She  remains  with  me,"  she  told  the  mother  ; 
and  the  young  marchioness  of  Boadilla  del  Monte,  as 
the  girl  was  called,  remained  with  the  exiled  queen 
till  the  day  of  her  death. 

The  tenderness  which  Maria  Luisa  lavished  on 
Godoy's  daughter  was  not  denied  to  his  two  little 
sons,  Manuel  and  Louis,  the  children  of  Pepita  Tudo. 
The  year  before  the  downfall  Charles  IV.  had  bestowed 
on  his  favourite's  mistress  the  title  of  countess  of 
Castillofiel.  As  the  beloved  of  Godoy,  she  was 
exposed  to  the  full  fury  of  his  foes.  On  her  way  to 
Andalusia  she  was  arrested  at  Almagro  in  La  Mancha, 
and  kept  under  rigorous  police  supervision.  She  was 
stripped  of  all  the  wealth  she  carried  with  her,  assailed 
with  contumely  and  derision.  In  her  desperate  plight 
she  addressed  a  piteous  appeal  to  Murat.  That  chival- 
rous soldier  did  not  forget  her.  She  was  quickly 
released  and  sent  under  escort  to  France.  Godoy, 
from  the  moment  of  his  liberation,  had  not  ceased 
to  appeal  to  the  imperial  lieutenant  on  her  behalf. 
At  Bayonne  she  was  reunited  to  him  and  her 
family.  She,  her  mother,  and  her  sisters,  Magdalena 
and  Socorro,  were  admitted  by  Maria  Luisa  to 
her  household,  and  all  shared  the  hospitality  of 
Compiegne. 

This  was  not  very  generous.     Napoleon  begrudged 


314  Godoy:   the  Queen's  Favourite 

even  the  meagre  emoluments  guaranteed  to  the  ex- 
king  by  the  treaty  of  Bayonne.  The  royal  family, 
he  directed,  was  to  be  lodged  only  in  a  wing  of  the 
palace,  on  the  pretext  that  the  state  apartments  had 
not  yet  been  made  ready  for  him.  "  The  king  will 
thus  get  used  to  the  quarters  provisionally  assigned 
to  him,"  he  wrote,  "  and  I  shall  not  be  deprived  of 
the  chateau  and  park  in  the  hunting  season."  He 
was  right  :  Charles  asked  for  very  little  and  amused 
himself  well  enough  with  his  fiddling.  But  the 
northern  air  was  too  keen  for  this  old  man,  born  and 
bred  in  the  south.  He  petitioned  his  imperial  "  pro- 
tector "  for  a  change  of  air.  Napoleon  gladly  con^ 
sented.  In  October  Compiegne,  with  its  superb 
domains,  was  exchanged  for  a  gentleman's  mansion  at 
Marseilles. 

There  we  lose  sight  for  a  time  of  these  exiles, 
"  the  world  forgetting,  by  the  world  forgot."  No 
English  gentlemen  of  leisure  were  travelling  in  France 
in  those  days  to  gratify  their  curiosity  by  visits  to 
this  monarch  retired  from  business.  And  the  eyes 
of  Spaniards  were  turned  only  towards  the  less  worthy 
exile  of  Valengay.  The  queen  of  Etruria,  at  her  own 
desire,  had  been  separated  from  her  parents  ;  but, 
instead  of  finding  a  home  at  Parma,  her  husband's 
ancient  seat,  as  she  had  hoped,  she  was  ordered  to 
reside  at  Nice.  An  attempt  to  escape  to  England 
brought  down  on  her  the  wrath  of  the  emperor.  Her 
son  was  taken  from  her  and  handed  over  to  her  parents, 
and  she  was  rigidly  confined,  with  her  daughter,  in 
a  nunnery  at  Rome. 

Charles  does  not  seem  to  have  protested  with  any 
vigour  against  this  harsh  treatment  of  his  daughter. 


The  Last  Long  Scene  315 

He  and  his  family  obtained  leave,  however,  to  estab- 
lish themselves  in  the  Eternal  City  in  the  summer  of 
181 2.  They  were  permitted  to  see  their  daughter 
once  a  month  till  she  was  set  at  liberty  by  the  Nea- 
politans, who,  under  the  leadership  of  Murat,  now 
in  arms  against  Napoleon,  occupied  Rome  in  January 
1814. 

Ferdinand,  too,  was  free  and  re-entered  Spain  amid 
the  frantic  applause  of  the  people.  Yet  he  was  not 
easy  in  his  mind  as  to  the  validity  of  his  father's 
abdication,  repudiated  as  it  had  been  at  Madrid 
and  Bayonne.  But  all  the  old  king's  anger  had  eva- 
porated. He  was  anxious,  above  all,  to  see  his  heir 
seated  firmly  on  his  throne.  Questioned  by  Louis 
XVHL,  as  head  of  the  house  of  Bourbon,  he  expressed 
his  desire  to  leave  the  acts  of  Aranjuez  in  oblivion 
and  to  sign  a  new  deed  of  abdication  in  his  son's 
favour.  He  communicated  this  intention  to  all  the 
great  Powers.  Of  course  the  proposal  pleased  nobody 
in  Spain,  for  its  adoption  would  have  made  void  all 
the  acts  of  the  Junta  reigning  in  Ferdinand's  name 
since  1808.  The  blame  was  at  once  thrown  on  to 
Godoy. 

The  Pope,  at  the  entreaty  of  the  Spanish  court, 
very  reluctantly  ordered  the  favourite  to  leave  his 
master  and  to  establish  himself  at  Pesaro  in  the 
Marches.  The  household  of  Maria  Luisa  was  broken 
up,  for  with  Godoy  went  his  mistress,  her  boys,  her 
mother,  and  her  younger  sister.  Instead  of  avenging 
himself  on  his  son  for  this  mean  thrust,  Charles  per- 
sisted in  his  abdication,  which  was  finally  drawn  up  in 
terms  acceptable  to  Ferdinand  and  signed  on  October  I, 
1 8 14.     Regarding  his  son  now  as    his  king,   the  old 


3i6  Godoy:   th^  Queen^s  Favourite 

man  henceforward  obeyed  him  almost  with  servility, 
even  to  the  detriment  of  those  dearest  to  him. 

When  Napoleon  returned  from  Elba  Murat  again 
invaded  the  Papal  territory,  this  time  in  his  old  master's 
interest.  The  royal  exiles  fied  north  and  found  an 
asylum  at  Verona,  where  Godoy  joined  them.  He 
fell  in  with  his  old  acquaintance,  Lord  Holland,  and 
complained  to  him  of  his  homeless  condition.  He 
even  spoke  of  the  likelihood  of  his  settling  in  England. 

The  rumour  that  he  thought,  instead,  of  establish- 
ing himself  at  the  Austrian  court  alarmed  Vargas 
Laguna,  the  Spanish  ambassador  at  Rome,  soon 
after  Napoleon's  second  overthrow.  He  therefore 
readily  acquiesced  in  Charles's  demand  for  the  recall 
of  Godoy  to  Rome,  whither  the  royal  family  had 
returned.  The  Tudos,  however,  took  up  their 
residence  at  Genoa,  continuing  an  assiduous  and  affec- 
tionate correspondence  with  the  queen.  Only  two 
children  were  now  left  to  solace  her  majesty's  old  age 
— her  son,  Francisco  de  Paula,  and  Godoy's  daughter, 
Carlota.  In  1817  there  was  some  talk  of  marrying 
these  young  people — a  project  which  Ferdinand  VH. 
promptly  nipped  in  the  bud.  The  scheme  disposes 
of  the  scandalous  rumour  that  the  young  prince  and 
the  queen  of  Etruria  were  the  favourite's  children  by 
Maria  Luisa. 

Vargas  Laguna  suggested  that  Carlota  should  be 
sent  back  to  Spain,  but  Ferdinand  would  not  allow 
this,  fearing  that  she  might  demand  a  share  of  her 
father's  forfeited  wealth.  For  the  same  reason  he 
vetoed  repeated  projects  of  marriage  between  her 
and  various  Roman  princes.  All  the  while  the  am- 
bassador devilishly  busied  himself  in  trying  to  poison 


The  Last  Long  Scene  317 

the  girPs  mind,  by  means  of  her  attendants,  against 
her  father,  and  to  excite  her  jealousy  against  her  half- 
brothers.  At  last,  in  the  year  1820,  she  was  married  to 
a  Roman  noble,  Count  Camillo  Ruspoli.  Her  grand- 
children to-day  still  bear  the  ducal  title  of  Alcudia 
which  her  father  had  ceded  to  her  at  her  birth. 

The  malice  of  his  old  enemy  did  not  cease  to  pursue 
Godoy  during  the  life  of  the  king  and  queen.  Vargas 
Laguna  obtained  a  complete  ascendency  over  the 
enfeebled  mind  of  Charles  IV.,  who  consented  to  act 
as  a  spy  on  his  own  wife  and  most  devoted  friend 
without  appearing  to  realise  the  injury  he  was  doing 
them.  The  old  man  appears  at  times  to  have  been 
inspired  by  a  sort  of  senile  roguishness.  It  seems  to 
have  pleased  him  to  do  spiteful  turns  to  the  two 
people  who  made  sure  of  his  devotion  and  affection. 
Vargas  Laguna  was  thus  able  to  rely  upon  a  friend  in 
the  enemy's  garrison  when  he  heard,  in  1817,  that 
the  favourite  again  meditated  seeking  the  protection 
of  the  emperor  of  Austria.  This  design  was  warmly 
approved  by  Maria  Luisa  and  seconded  by  prince 
Kaunitz,  the  imperial  ambassador  at  Rome. 

Godoy's  statesmanship  was  better  appreciated  at 
foreign  courts  than  in  his  own  country,  and  a  new 
career  might  have  opened  for  him  at  Vienna.  Pepita 
Tudo  entered  into  the  scheme  with  her  usual  energy 
and  ardour.  Hearing  that  Metternich  was  taking  the 
waters  at  Lucca,  she  presented  herself  there  to  the 
all-powerful  minister.  Metternich  was  easily  dis- 
posed in  the  beautiful  lady's  favour  and  readily 
granted  her  permission  to  send  an  agent,  Don  Juan 
Martinez,  to  Vienna  to  ask  for  passports  for  herself 
and  Godoy.      Martinez    was   in   the  pay  of   Vargas 


31 8  Godoy:   the  Quecn^s  Favourite 

Laguna,  and  the  scheme  was  very  soon  communicated 
to  the  court  of  Madrid.  Godoy  at  Vienna,  perhaps 
at  the  ear  of  Francis  II.,  was  a  possibility  sufficient 
to  appal  Ferdinand  VII.  and  to  enkindle  all  his  latent 
hate.  He  at  once  despatched  an  envoy  to  the  em- 
peror, selecting  no  other  than  Ceballos,  who  had 
already  repaid  Godoy's  services  to  him  in  the  past 
with  so  many  injuries. 

While  this  turncoat  was  on  his  way  to  Vienna,  his 
colleague  at  Rome,  with  the  connivance  of  the  gover- 
nor, Tiberio  Pacca,  occupied  himself  with  intercepting 
Godoy's  correspondence  with  Kaunitz  and  Pepita.  He 
worked  on  Charles's  fear  of  losing  his  favourite  and  dis- 
pleasing his  son  and  liege  lord  so  far  as  to  induce  him 
to  write  personally  to  the  emperor  asking  him  to  with- 
draw the  invitation  issued  by  Metternich.  The  letter 
was  drafted  by  Vargas  Laguna  ;  otherwise  it  would  be 
difficult  to  explain  or  to  excuse  the  language  in  which 
the  old  king  speaks  of  his  most  loyal  friend  :  "  Your 
majesty  is  not  ignorant  of  the  hatred  of  the  Spanish 
nation  for  Godoy,  nor  of  the  measures  which  I,  my 
son,  and  the  Cortes  have  successively  adopted  against 
him.  That  he  has  continued  about  my  person  and 
that  his  prosecution  has  been  abandoned  must  be 
attributed  to  my  benevolent  mediation  and  to  the 
love  and  respect  which  my  son  entertains  for  me. 
Such  kindness  should  have  filled  the  heart  of  Godoy 
with  gratitude..  .  .  .  Notwithstanding,  he  has  per- 
mitted himself,  without  consulting  me,  to  solicit 
from  your  majesty  not  only  naturalisation  as  an 
Austrian  subject,  but  the  honours  sovereigns  are 
accustomed  to  reserve  for  their  most  faithful 
subjects." 


The  Last  Long  Scene  319 

The  king  wound  up  by  asking  the  emperor  not  to 
grant  any  request  that  would  trouble  his  beloved  son, 
Ferdinand,  and  vowing  that  he  would  not  tolerate 
Godoy  near  him  if  he  succeeded  in  his  desire.  This 
letter  was  handed  to  Francis  H.  by  Ceballos.  On 
February  2,  181 8,  the  emperor  replied  that  he 
had  ordered  his  ambassador  in  Rome  to  inform  the 
Prince  of  the  Peace  that  no  Spanish  subject  could  be 
admitted  into  his  dominions  without  the  consent  of 
his  natural  lord. 

The  unworthy  old  dotard  Charles  had,  in  obedience 
to  his  unnatural  son,  ruined  the  last  hopes  of  the 
man  who  had  worked  so  much,  suffered  so  much,  and 
lost  so  much  in  his  cause.  He  even  lent  himself 
to  the  persecution  of  Pepita  Tudo  and  her  children. 
Ferdinand  professed  to  believe  that  Godoy  or  his 
mistress  was  possessed  of  some  of  the  crown  jewels 
missing  ever  since  the  French  invasion.  Charles  dis- 
graced himself  by  asking  the  grand-duke  of  Tuscany, 
who  had  taken  the  Tudo  into  his  favour,  to  remove 
her  from  his  dominions  and  to  allow  the  Spanish 
minister  to  search  her  coffers  ;  but  he  pleaded  that 
his  old  favourite  should  not  again  be  removed  from 
Rome. 

Pepita  protested,  with  her  customary  vehemence, 
against  these  disgraceful  aspersions.  The  death  of 
her  younger  son,  Luis,  added  to  her  grief  and  to  the 
unhappy  Godoy's.  The  positive  declaration  of  Maria 
Luisa  that  the  few  jewels  in  the  possession  of  her 
favourites  were  lawfully  theirs  and  that  much  of  the 
missing  treasure  had  been  sold  by  her  to  supply  the 
needs  of  her  family  in  exile  at  last  caused  Ferdinand 
and    his    agents    to    cease     their    malicious   pursuit ; 


320  Godoy:  the  Quccn^s  Favourite 

but  so  long  as  his  old  enemy  lived  Godoy  and  his 
mistress  were  subject  to  the  persistent  annoyance  and 
supervision  of  his  spies. 

They  were  soon  robbed  of  their  steadfast  protectress. 
In  the  last  days  of  the  year  1818  the  queen  fell  ill. 
At  a  quarter  past  ten  on  the  night  of  January  2  she 
died,  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  her  age,  her  last 
glances  wandering  from  her  old  lover  and  faithful 
friend  to  her  two  youngest  daughters,  who  arrived 
only  in  time  to  close  her  eyes.  Her  husband  was  not 
present.  He  was  on  a  visit  to  his  brother  at  Naples. 
In  his  old  age  he  seems  to  have  contracted  a  dislike 
for  all  those  he  had  formerly  loved.  He  was  not 
much  troubled  by  his  wife's  death.  Within  eighteen 
days  he  followed  her  to  the  tomb. 

Godoy  mourned  bitterly  the  loss  of  the  mistress 
who  had  befriended  him  to  the  last  and  of  the  master 
who  had  betrayed  him.  By  a  will  executed  in  1 81 5 
the  queen  had  bequeathed  everything  she  possessed 
to  Godoy,  "  to  whom,  in  discharge  of  our  conscience, 
we  owe  this  indemnification  for  the  many  great  losses 
he  has  suffered  in  obedience  to  our  orders  and  to  those 
of  the  king  here  present,  and  because  we  refused  the 
permission  he  sought  to  vacate  his  offices  and  retire 
into  private  life."  The  will  was  respectfully  trans* 
mitted  by  Godoy  to  Ferdinand  VII.  His  catholic 
majesty  ignored  it,  having  been  previously  informed 
that  his  father  had  withdrawn  his  consent  to  this 
disposition  of  his  wife's  property.  Regardless  of 
their  mother's  wishes,  the  princes  and  princesses  all 
greedily  clamoured  for  their  share  in  her  estate. 

Godoy,  now  approaching  old  age,  was  left  penniless. 
For  years  past  he  had  subsisted  on  the  bounty  of  the 


The  Last  Long  Scene  321 

queen  ;  for  to  the  last  he  had  made  his  country  the 
sole  repository  of  his  fortune.  He  was  beggared  now 
by  the  cowardly  deference  of  Charles  to  his  son's 
animosity ;  yet  he  respected  the  ungrateful  old  man's 
wishes  and  resolved  to  attempt  no  defence  of  his 
career  till  Ferdinand  also  had  passed  away.  His 
patience  was  rewarded.  In  1833  his  bitterest  enemy 
died,  leaving  a  legacy  of  civil  war  and  fratricidal  strife 
to  his  disillusioned  subjects. 

Godoy  now  found  himself  in  Paris,  old  and  almost 
destitute.  His  appeals  to  successive  Spanish  ministers 
were  futile.  No  one  heeded  him  ;  he  was  forgotten 
by  friend  and  foe  alike.  The  recommendations  of 
successive  ambassadors  to  the  cabinet  of  Madrid  were 
ignored.  In  remembrance  at  last  of  his  generosity 
to  the  French  royalist  exiles,  Louis  Philippe  settled  an 
annuity  of  ^200  upon  him.  In  1836  he  published 
his  memoirs,  said  to  have  been  written,  at  his  dic- 
tation, by  a  Spanish  clergyman  exiled  to  Paris.  His 
mild  treatment  of  enemies,  his  readiness  to  impute 
good  motives  to  most  of  his  opponents,  his  touching 
loyalty  to  the  old  king  who  had  at  the  last  betrayed 
him,  should  have  done  much  to  restore  him  to  the 
favour  of  his  countrymen  ;  but  a  new  generation  had 
arisen  who  took  no  interest,  friendly  or  hostile,  in 
this  venerable  survivor  of  a  bygone  age. 

Harder  to  bear  than  the  neglect  of  his  countrymen 
was  his  abandonment  by  those  dearest  to  him.  His 
daughter  Carlota  had  gone  back  to  Spain  and  been 
granted  his  estates  in  Valencia.  On  the  death  of  his 
wife  he  married  Pepita  in  order  to  legitimate  their 
son ;  but  she,  too,  deserted  him  and  returned,  upon 
the  death  of  Ferdinand,  to  Madrid.     Who  was  there 

19 


322  Godoy:   the  Queen^s  Favourite 

to  care  for  this  penniless,  exiled  old  man,  approaching 
his  seventieth  year  ? 

In  these  last  sad  d^ys  we  catch  very  few  glimpses 
of  the  man  who  had  once  ruled  over  Spain  and  half 
the  New  World.  Lord  Holland,  at  least,  had  not 
forgotten  him,  and  he  refers  with  gratitude  in  his 
memoirs  to  his  lordship  as  the  only  person  who,  since 
his  fall,  had  shown  any  recollection  of  any  service,  great 
or  small,  received  from  him.  He  presently  received 
a  visit  from  the  Whig  nobleman,  who,  writing  on 
September  19,  1838,  says  :  "  I  saw  the  Prince  of 
the  Peace,  much  altered  in  appearance,  but  still  the 
same  character  of  countenance.  Good-humoured, 
self-satisfied,  somewhat  jovial  and  hearty,  in  his  bad 
French  and  chuckling  voice,  and  an  arch  expression 
in  his  eyes,  he  complained  much  of  the  ingratitude 
of  the  world.  He  complained  bitterly  of  the  Tudo, 
to  whom,  he  said,  he  had  been  attached  from  his 
youth,  and  for  whom  he  had  incurred  the  imputation 
of  bigamy,  and  whom  all  the  world  knew  he  had 
actually  married,  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife, 
for  the  purpose  of  legitimating  her  son.  He  had 
settled  on  her  all  he  had  in  the  world  out  of  Spain, 
and  she  had  left  him  and  taken  the  whole,  so  that  he 
was  reduced  to  absolute  penury,  and  lived  entirely 
on  the  small  pension  Louis  Philippe  allowed  him. 

"  His  estates  .  .  .  had  been  distributed  in  a  strange 
way  :  his  Soto  de  Roma  had  been  bestowed  on  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  who  had  earned  it ;  but  he  knew 
of  no  sentence  or  judgment  of  law  depriving  him  of 
it.  As  to  the  Alb uf era  and  his  encomiendas^  these 
had  been  conferred  on  the  Infante  Don  Francisco  ; 
so  that  whenever  he  claimed  his  lands  he  found  some 


The  Last  Long  Scene  323 

one  in  the  enjoyment  of  them  whom  he  had  little 
chance  of  dispossessing.  He  rather  laughed  at  this 
and  his  own  helplessness,  but  he  spoke  with  more 
bitterness  of  the  Tudo's  ingratitude,  and  with  some 
indignation  of  the  Liberals  depriving  him  of  the  title 
of  captain-general.  He  had  no  great  complaint  of 
Napoleon  ...  he  had  offered  him  fair  terms  of 
reconciliation,  if  he  had  thought  it  either  honourable 
or  possible  to  have  accepted  of  them.  .  .  .  He  spoke 
with  less  bitterness  of  Ferdinand  and  with  more  of 
Don  Carlos  than  I  expected. 

"  Soon  after  he  left  me  I  met,  on  the  landing-place 
of  the  hotel  stairs,  a  dark  and  somewhat  stately  lady- 
carried  by  two  or  three  servants  on  a  footstool  to  a 
story  above  our  apartment.  ...  It  was  the  duchess 
of  Sueca,  who  is  the  daughter  of  the  Prince  of  the 
Peace  and  possesses  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  his 
landed  property.  But  she  neither  allows  him  a 
sixpence  out  of  them  or  keeps  up  any  intercourse  with 
him.  She  is  married  to  a  Roman  prince.  The  Tudo 
is  living  in  comparative  splendour  at  Madrid,  while 
her  husband  is  training  a  miserable  existence  as  a 
pensioner  or  almost  beggar  in  Paris,  surrounded  by 
relations,  acknowledged  or  unacknowledged  children, 
grandchildren,  and  what  not — infantes,  princesses, 
duchesses,  etc.,  not  one  of  which  condescends  to  take 
the  least  notice  of  him  or  show  the  slightest  tenderness, 
regard,  or  interest  about  one  to  whom  some  owe  their 
station   and   riches,   and  all   more   or  less   their  very 


existence." 


About  the  same  time  Godoy  was  consoled  by  a 
testimony  of  good-will  from  young  Spain  in  the  person 
of  the  brilliant  writer,  Ramon  de  Mesonero  y  Romanos, 


324  Godoy:  the  Queen*s  Favourite 

who  has  left  us  his  recollections  of  the  old  man  in  his 
last  days  : 

"  Happening  to  be  in  Paris  and  on  the  most  cordial 
terms  with  the  venerable  and  affable  Don  Juan 
Antonio  Melon,  an  old  friend  of  my  father's,  I 
expressed  to  him  my  desire  to  pay  my  respects  to 
that  famous  but  fallen  historical  personage,  the  Prince 
of  the  Peace.  We  directed  our  steps,  then,  to  the 
humble  dwelling  of  the  man  still  entitled  Prince  of 
Bassano,  which  was  situated  in  a  street  behind  the 
Passage  de  I'Opera,  on  the  fourth  floor.  The  prince 
received  us  with  the  greatest  courtesy,  and,  Melon 
having  mentioned  that  I  was  a  writer,  he  seemed 
pleased  and  spoke  freely  about  his  misfortunes  and 
the  injustice  with  which  he  had  been  treated  by 
certain  historians,  especially  the  count  of  Toreno. 
He  asked  me,  also,  if  I  had  read  his  memoirs  and  what 
opinion  the  new  generation  had  formed  of  him. 

"  I  succeeded  in  convincing  him  that  we  had  for- 
gotten the  passionate  animosities  and  prejudices  of 
our  fathers,  and  that,  having  suffered  under  the  rule 
of  Ferdinand  VH.,  with  his  Macanaces,  Eguias,  and 
Calomardes,  we  were  rather  disposed  to  envy  those 
who  had  lived  under  governments  more  enlightened 
and  tolerant.  I  spoke  with  approval  of  his  beneficent 
endeavours  to  promote  science  and  the  culture  of  the 
nation  ;  of  the  protection  he  extended  to  the  men 
of  talent  of  his  day  ;  of  the  travels  of  Rojas  Clemente 
and  Badia  which  he  had  initiated  ;  of  the  expedition 
of  Balmis  to  America  to  disseminate  vaccin, — all  of 
which  seemed  to  gratify  him  extremely.  He  thanked 
me  in  accents  borrowed  from  the  Italian  language, 
which  he  had  used  habitually  for  thirty  years  past. 


The  Last  Long  Scene  325 

and  repeated  that  his  most  ardent  wish  was  to  return 
to  Spain  and  take  a  look  round  the  Prado  ;  but  that 
the  Government  and  the  courts,  everlastingly  post- 
poning his  rehabilitation,  deprived  him  of  that 
pleasure.  He  hoped,  however,  much  from  the  justice 
of  his  cause  and  the  talent  of  his  defenders,  Perez 
Hernandez  and  Pacheco.  I  replied  that,  being  hon- 
oured with  the  friendship  of  both  those  eminent 
jurists,  I  would  endeavour  to  reanimate  their  exertions 
on  behalf  of  the  prince,  and  promised  to  do  my  own 
humble  best  for  his  vindication." 

Mesonero  Romanos  did  not  forget  his  promise, 
and  did  justice  to  Godoy's  services  to  civilisation  in 
a  book  he  shortly  afterwards  published  on  Madrid 
ancient  and  modern.  Nor  were  the  efforts  of  the 
advocates  unsuccessful  in  the  end.  On  May  31,  1847, 
— thirty-nine  years  after  the  catastrophe  of  Aranjuez — 
Queen  Isabella  H.  signed  the  decree  restoring  the 
Prince  of  the  Peace  to  his  rank  and  dignities  and 
ordering  the  restoration  of  his  property.  But  the 
actual  possessors  of  his  estates  well  knew  how,  by  the 
tedious  processes  and  circumlocutions  of  Spanish  law, 
to  postpone  from  month  to  month  the  fulfilment 
of  this  act  of  tardy  justice.  Against  the  arts  of 
procrastination  so  well  understood  by  his  countrymen 
a  man  of  fourscore  cannot  long  contend.  On 
October  4,,,!  851,  the  unjust  possessors  of  his  lands 
breathed  freely — Godoy  would  never  come  back  to 
Spain.     He  had  ended  his  long  exile  in  a  foreign  land. 

He  passed  away  unremarked  and  scarce  remembered 
except  by  those  who  had  good  reasons  to  wish  him 
gone.  The  notice  of  his  death  appeared  in  but  one 
Spanish    journal ;    his   epitaph   was   written    by   the 


326  Godoy :   the  Queen*s  Favourite 

last  Spaniard  who  had  defended  him  during  life. 
Mesonero  Romanes  wrote  : 

"  We  have  seen  this  Colossus  who,  in  our  fathers' 
time,  directed  the  destinies  of  the  monarchy  and  the 
treasures  of  the  New  World,  reduced  to  a  modest 
annuity  of  six  thousand  francs  ;  and,  so  resigned  to  his 
fate  and  the  dark  vicissitudes  of  life,  that  he  would 
sit  contentedly  in  the  gardens  of  the  Palais  Royal  or 
the  Tuileries,  playing  with  the  children,  recovering 
their  hoops  and  tops,  lending  them  his  stick  to  ride 
on,  and  taking  them  tenderly  on  his  knee.  He  was 
well  known  to  the  strolling  players  who  haunted  these 
spots,  and  who  took  him  for  a  retired  actor  or  a  veteran 
devotee  of  the  theatre.  By  them  he  was  known  only 
as  Monsieur  Manuel.  None  of  them  guessed  that 
his  noble  brow  had  once  borne  a  prince's  crown  ; 
that  from  his  bowed  shoulders  had  once  hung  a  truly 
royal  mantle  ;  that  the  ring  on  his  finger  had  been 
placed  there  on  his  marriage  with  a  descendant  of 
Philip  V.  and  Louis  XIV.  His  pleasant  smile  of 
benevolence  and  interest  over  and  over  again  procured 
the  offer  of  a  job  as  stage  manager  or  prompter  for 
him  whom  armies  and  fleets  had  obeyed,  who  had 
warred  against  the  great  republic,  and  who  had  ne- 
gotiated treaties  on  equal  terms  with  the  emperor 
himself. 

"  Truly  the  career  of  this  man,  as  much  as  by  his 
rapid  and  amazing  elevation  as  by  his  abysmal  fall 
and  protracted  agony,  is  most  remarkable  and  perhaps 
without  parallel  in  the  annals  of  history.  Don 
Alvaro  de  Luna  and  Calderon,  dying  on  the  scaffold, 
appropriately  concluded  their  tragic  history.  Olivares 
and  Lerma,  the  one  banished  to  his  estates,  the  other 


The  Last  Long  Scene  327 

covering  himself  with  ^the  purple  of  the  cardinal, 
barely  survived  their  disgrace  ;  Nithard,  Valenzuela, 
Alberoni,  Ripperda,  the  Princesse  des  Ursins,  Squillace 
— all  died  far  from  the  scene  of  their  triumphs,  but 
not  completely  forgotten  or  deprived  of  political 
importance. 

"  Godoy  alone  has  dragged  on,  through  half  a  cen- 
tury, an  obscure  and  miserable  existence  in  presence 
of  the  great  events  of  European  history  and  without 
figuring  in  any  of  them.  He  has  survived  his  own 
history  ;  he  has  heard  the  judgments  of  posterity  ;  he 
has  assisted  at  his  own  obsequies  and  has  remained 
indifferent  to  the  indifference  of  three  generations. 
His  death  alone,  in  the  eighty-fifth  year  of  his  age 
and  the  forty-fourth  of  his  exile,  has  recalled  his 
name  to  men  and  reminded  the  French  capital  of  his 
existence.  Only  a  few  Spaniards  accompanied  his 
corpse  to  the  church  of  St.  Roch,  where  it  was  de- 
posited, awaiting  removal  to  his  fatherland.  The 
memory  of  the  Prince  of  the  Peace  has  been  thought 
worthy,  in  the  whole  Spanish  press,  only  of  these  few 
lines  !  " 

"When  I  was  last  in  Paris  in  1865,"  continues 
Mesonero  Romanos,  "  I  visited,  as  my  custom  is,  the 
cemetery  of  Pere  Lachaise  and  lingered  at  that  space 
to  the  left  of  the  chapel,  known  as  the  Spaniards' 
Island.  There,  where  are  buried  Moratin,  Urquijo, 
Fernan-Nuiiez,  Garcia  Suelto,  and  the  tenor,  Garcia, 
and  not  far  from  the  sepulchre  of  General  Ballesteros, 
is  a  small  railed-in  grave  ;  above  it  a  tablet  announces 
that  there  lie  the  ashes  of  Don  Manuel  Godoy,  Prince 
of  the  Peace  and  Duke  of  Alcudia,  the  prodigy  of 
fortune  and  saddest  example  of  ill  luck." 


328  Godoy :   the  Queen^s  Favourite 

The  man  who  fell  in  a  supreme  effort  to  rid  Spain 
of  her  enemies  would  prefer  that  the  last  words  over 
his  tomb  should  proceed  from  a  Spanish  heart,  even 
if  transcribed  by  an  English  pen. 


INDEX 

The  names  of  Godoy  [Manuel),    Charles  IV.,  Maria  Luisa,  and 

Napoleon  I.  are  omitted 


Abrantes,  duchesse  d' .    See  Junot, 

Mme 
Alba,  duchess  of,  28 
Alquier,  121 
Amiens,  peace  of,  140 
Antonio,  Infante,  275,  277,  295 
Aranda,    count    of,    50,    53,    56, 

69.  72,  73 
Arguelles,  199 
Azara,  99,  121,  138,  140,  164 

Badia  y  Leblich,  147 

Bale,  treaty  of,  77 

Beauharnais,  219  et  seq.,  238,  281, 

297 
Beurnonvillef  152  et  seq.,  185,  192 
Bonaparte,  Charlotte,  240 
Bonaparte,  Joseph,  187,  310 
Bonaparte,  Lucien,  129,  132-45 
Bourgoing,  53,  65 

Caballero,  iii,  114,  217,  233,  235, 

242,  246,  273 
Caballero,  Eugenio,  243 
Cabarrus,  76,  85,  98,  108 
Campomanes,  93,  135,  242 
Carlota     Joaquina,     princess     of 

Portugal,  98 
Ceballos,  130,  132,  135,  151,  154, 

187,  295,  299,  310.  318 
Charles  III.,  23,  26,  36 
Condillac,  25 

Del  Campo,  109 

Duroc,  199,  207,  257,  309 


Eden  (Lord  St.  Helens),  23,  40,  61 
Escoiquiz,    174   et  seq.,    187,   219, 

221,  241,  246,  295 
Espinosa,  199 
Exelmans,  General,  300 

Ferdinand,     prince    of    Asturias, 
afterwards  Ferdinand  VII.,  145, 
173,  186,  211  et  seq.,  223,  226, 
264,  281,  284 
Floridablanca,  37,  39,  40-43,  48 
Fontainebleau,  treaty  of,  240 
Francisco  de  Paula,  Infante,  312, 

316 
Frere,  Hookham,  153,  164-9 

Godoy,  Antonia,  16,  121 

Godoy,  Carlota  Luisa,  duchess  of 

Alcudia,  127,  313,  321,  323 
Godoy,  Diego,  17,  80,  218,  278,  290 
Godoy,  Jose,  16,  79 
Godoy,  Luis,  17,  32,  80 
Godoy,  Ramona,  16 
Goya,  28 

Holland,  Lord,  83,  322 

Infantado,    duke    del,    233,    246, 

295.  3" 
Isabella  II.,  325 
Izquierdo,   191    et   seq.,  204,  207, 

262-70 


Jovellanos,  108,  112 


329 


330 


Inde: 


Junot,  due  d'  Abrantes,  182,  206, 

239,  248,  258 
Junot,  Mme,  duchesse  d'  Abrantes, 

179 

Lancaster,  Count,  27 
Louis  XVI.,  40,  41,  69 

Malaspina,  100 

Mall6,  127 

Maria,   Antonia,   princess   of   As- 

turias,  176,  187,  188 
Maria  Isabel,  Infanta,  143,  145 
Maria   Luisa,    queen   of    Etruria, 

116,   133.    252,   265,    292,    297, 

312,  314 
Maria    Teresa,     Princess    of    the 

Peace,  107,  279,  313 
Masserano,   prince    of,    194,    207, 

238 
Matallana,  countess  of,  loi 
Mesonero  y  Romanos,  323 
Moratin,  89,  327 
Murat,  251,  271,  292  et  seq.,  315 
Musquitz,  102,  117,  122 

Nelson,  182-5 

Ocariz,  62 
Ortiz,  28 


Osuna,  duke  of,  109,  118 

Parma,  Luis,  infante  of,  118,  133 
Perignon,  General,  104 
Pignatelli,  28 
Pius  VI.,  99 

Ricardos,  General,  71 

Saavedra,  108,  iii,  113,  117,  119, 

120 
Saint-Cyr,  Gouvion,  137,  139 
San  Ildefonso,  treaty  of,  96 
Savary,  295 
Stroganov,  198 

Talleyrand,  138,  207 

Tallien,  Mme,  76 

Trafalgar,  battle  of,  185 

Truguet,  no,  116 

Tudo,  Dona  Josefa,  102,  251,  280, 

313,  316,  317,  321,  323 
Tudo,  Magdalena,  103,  313 
Tudo,  Socorro,  103,  313 

Urquijo,  119-31.  3io,  327 

Vallabriga,  Maria  de,  107 
Vargas  Laguna,  ^16  et  seq. 

Zinoviev,  38,  61 


Printed  by  Hazell,  Watson  &  Viney,  Ld.,  London  and  Aylesbury. 


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